The following is from House Oversight Committee Republicans.

House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) and Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Information Technology, and Government Innovation Chairwoman Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) are investigating organized efforts, undertaken in violation of Wikipedia platform rules, to influence US public opinion on important and sensitive topics by manipulating Wikipedia articles.

In a letter to Wikimedia Foundation Chief Executive Officer Maryana Iskander, Chairman Comer and Subcommittee Chairwoman Mace request documents and information related to actions by Wikipedia volunteer editors caught violating platform policies, as well as Iskander’s efforts to thwart intentional, organized efforts to inject bias into sensitive topics.

“Multiple studies and reports have highlighted efforts to manipulate information on the Wikipedia platform for propaganda aimed at Western audiences. One recent report raised troubling questions about potentially systematic efforts to advance antisemitic and anti-Israel information in Wikipedia articles related to conflicts with the State of Israel,” wrote the lawmakers. “A second investigation detailed actions by hostile nation-state actors to expose Western audiences to pro-Kremlin and anti-Western messaging by manipulating Wikipedia articles and other news outlets relied on for training AI chatbots.”

Americans, and increasingly AI chatbots, rely on Wikipedia to disperse credible and unbiased information on a variety of topics and persons of interest. The House Oversight Committee is investigating manipulation efforts to determine the role and methods of foreign individuals, those at academic institutions subsidized by US taxpayer dollars, as well as Wikipedia’s awareness and response. The Committee also seeks information about the tools and methods Wikipedia utilizes to identify and stop malicious conduct online that injects bias and undermines neutral points of view on its platform.

“[The Wikimedia] foundation, which hosts the Wikipedia platform, has acknowledged taking actions responding to misconduct by volunteer editors who effectively create Wikipedia’s encyclopedic articles. The Committee recognizes that virtually all web-based information platforms must contend with bad actors and their efforts to manipulate. Our inquiry seeks information to help our examination of how Wikipedia responds to such threats and how frequently it creates accountability when intentional, egregious, or highly suspicious patterns of conduct on topics of sensitive public interest are brought to attention,” concluded the lawmakers.

Read the press release here.

Read the letter to Wikimedia Foundation here or below.

Ms. Maryana Iskander
Chief Executive Officer
Wikimedia Foundation
1 Sansome Street, Suite 1895
San Francisco, CA 94104

Dear Ms. Iskander:

The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is investigating the efforts of foreign operations and individuals at academic institutions subsidized by US taxpayer dollars to influence US public opinion. We seek your assistance in obtaining documents and communications regarding individuals (or specific accounts) serving as Wikipedia volunteer editors who violated Wikipedia platform policies as well as your own efforts to thwart intentional, organized efforts to inject bias into important and sensitive topics.

Multiple studies and reports have highlighted efforts to manipulate information on the Wikipedia platform for propaganda aimed at Western audiences. One recent report raised troubling questions about potentially systematic efforts to advance antisemitic and anti-Israel information in Wikipedia articles related to conflicts with the State of Israel.¹ A second investigation detailed actions by hostile nation-state actors to expose Western audiences to pro-Kremlin and anti-Western messaging by manipulating Wikipedia articles and other news outlets relied on for training AI chatbots.² Your foundation, which hosts the Wikipedia platform, has acknowledged taking actions responding to misconduct by volunteer editors who effectively create Wikipedia’s encyclopedic articles.³

The Committee recognizes that virtually all web-based information platforms must contend with bad actors and their efforts to manipulate. Our inquiry seeks information to help our examination of how Wikipedia responds to such threats and how frequently it creates accountability when intentional, egregious, or highly suspicious patterns of conduct on topics of sensitive public interest are brought to attention. This includes questions concerning the tools and methods Wikipedia utilizes to identify and stop malicious conduct that injects bias or undermines a neutral point of view on its platform. We also seek to better our understanding of the individuals caught engaging in prohibited behavior.

To assist the Committee’s oversight of this matter, we request the following information, covering the period January 1, 2023 to present, as soon as possible but no later than September 10, 2025:

1. Records, communications, or analysis pertaining to possible coordination by nation state actors in editing activities on Wikipedia.
2. Records, communications, or analysis pertaining to possible coordination within academic institutions or other organized efforts to edit or influence content identified as possibly violating Wikipedia policies.
3. Records of Wikipedia’s Arbitration Committee (ArbCom) including but not limited to all editor conduct disputes and actions taken against them.
4. Records showing identifying and unique characteristics of accounts (such as names, IP addresses, registration dates, user activity logs) for editors subject to actions by ArbCom.
5. Documentation of Wikipedia’s editorial policies and protocols including those aimed at ensuring neutrality and addressing bias as well as policies regarding discipline for violations.
6. Any analysis conducted or reviewed by the Wikimedia Foundation (or by a third-party acting on its behalf) of patterns of manipulation or bias related to antisemitism and conflicts with the State of Israel.

The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is the principal oversight committee of the US House of Representatives and has broad authority to investigate “any matter” at “any time” under House Rule X. To arrange for delivery of documents or to ask any related follow up questions, please contact the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Majority staff at (202) 225-5074. Thank you for your attention to this important matter.

Sincerely,

James Comer Nancy Mace
Chairman Chairwoman
Committee on Oversight and Subcommittee on Cybersecurity,
Government Reform Information Technology, and
Government Innovation

cc: The Honorable Robert Garcia, Ranking Member
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

The Honorable Shontel Brown, Ranking Member
Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Information Technology, and Government Innovation