On top of every Wikipedia’s Arabic-language page as of Monday, there is an icon with a black banner and red text that matches a lot of pro-Hamas war narratives.
“In solidarity with the rights of the Palestinian people, No to genocide in Gaza…No to killing civilians. No to targeting hospitals and schools…No to deception and double standards,” the text reads in translated English. Such text appears at the top of every page in Wikipedia Arabic, even an entry about a long extinct species of crocodile, the National Review reported. (RELATED: Pro-Palestine Activists Cancel Plan To Storm Holocaust Museum After Outcry)
The Arabic-language version of Wikipedia has placed a banner at the top of each page accusing Israel of committing genocide and manipulating public opinion through lies. | @zach_kessel https://t.co/N2Z1QsiB6a
— National Review (@NRO) January 8, 2024
To the right of the red and white text is the Palestinian flag draped over a Wikipedia icon. There are various links to other pages within the highlighted message. One link takes the reader to a page about the Israel-Hamas War that broke out on Oct. 7 and notes that one of the names for the war is “the Gaza Massacre.” Countries like South Africa have accused Israel before the International Court of Justice of conducting genocide in Gaza. This claim is very highly contested by Israel and has been called a “blood libel.”
Another link related to “No to targeting hospitals” takes the reader to the narrative of the bombing of the al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza during the war on Oct. 17, which the page blames squarely on the “Israeli occupation forces” that killed over 400 people. The term “Israeli occupation forces” is a derogatory term for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
This claim was made despite the fact Israel released evidence that pointed to the culprit behind the explosion in the hospital’s courtyard being the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The United States have backed the Israeli claim and said they possess “high confidence” intelligence. Many news sources have admitted they rushed to judgement over the attack and have retracted their blame on Israel. The source for the claim blaming the Israelis comes from the Hamas-run Ministry of Health in Gaza.
Another link to “deceptions and double standards” takes the reader to a page about “Israeli propaganda” during the Hamas-Israel War. The Arabic Wikipedia claims Hamas is besmirched by allegations that its fighters committed acts of brutality such as rape and that the Israelis “link Palestinian resistance factions [such as Hamas] to terrorism.”
These rather blatant pro-Palestinian pages appear to stand in contrast to Wikipedia’s own declared standards of covering events from a “neutral point of view,” which emphasizes “representing fairly, proportionately, and, as far as possible, without editorial bias, all the significant views” on a topic.