Great write-up of a story I had assumed was BS and am glad to have been right about. I didn't realize there was a WMF report on some of these concerns but I appreciate that they didn't just make office actions on the impersonation issue. ThadeusOfNazereth(he/him)Talk to Me! 20:27, 28 November 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Conspiracy theorists will always try to look for reasons to accuse governments/corporations of maleficence. As far as I'm concerned, WP:DENY applies to conspiracy theorists of all kinds, on the internet and in real life. Thebiguglyalien (talk) 15:57, 29 November 2022 (UTC)[reply]
While I'm highly skeptical that the WMF is plotting with any government to influence encyclopedia content, I do worry that the issue of government-driven efforts to systematically influence Wikipedia articles is a potential threat to the encyclopedia that does not get as much attention as it deserves. (t · c) buidhe 21:26, 29 November 2022 (UTC)[reply]
If the DHS or any other agency or entity, domestic or foreign, wanted certain narrative in Wikipedia's articles, they don't need a formal and public collusion. They could very well have some strategically placed collaborators among the volunteer editors. It is hard enough for government agencies to detect spies among their ranks. Therefore, it would be harder by Wikipedia to detect editors planted by intel agencies and nearly impossible by unsuspecting neutral editors. Specially if "conspiracy theory" or "outrageous allegations" is what many yell at the first sign of some editors expressing suspicions. Who knows how many times editors have been quietly threatened to change content if threatening that became public has been done by the French government in the past. I can only imagine what may happen to editors in third world countries. Thinker78(talk) 21:14, 30 November 2022 (UTC)[reply]
