Activists claimed on Thursday that Saudi Arabia had compromised Wikipedia and imprisoned two administrators. This was done to restrict content on the website, weeks after a former Twitter employee was sentenced to prison for “spying” for the Saudi government. According to the activists, one administrator received a 32-year sentence in prison, and another received an eight-year sentence.
According to two rights organizations, parent organization Wikimedia’s research revealed that Saudi residents were being pushed or working as agents for the Saudi government in Wikipedia’s upper levels in the region.
“Wikimedia’s investigation revealed that the Saudi government had infiltrated the highest ranks in Wikipedia’s team in the region.” Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN) and Beirut-based SMEX said in a joint statement.
Jamal Khashoggi’s foundation, DAWN, has its headquarters in Washington. Additionally, SMEX, which advocates for digital rights in the Arab world, credited “whistleblowers and trusted sources” with the information.
The Saudi government and Wikimedia, which offers free educational material online through projects like Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia, and Wiktionary. They did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Following Wikimedia’s announcement of worldwide bans for 16 users “who were engaging in conflict of interest editing on Wikipedia projects in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region” last month, DAWN and SMEX released a statement.
Wikimedia stated that they “were able to confirm that several users with close connections with external parties were editing the platform in a coordinated fashion to advance the aim of those parties” in a probe that began in January.
Crackdown on Wikipedia admins in the country
According to DAWN and SMEX, who cited their sources, Wikimedia was referring to Saudis operating under the Saudi government’s direction. The two groups said that since their arrests on the same day in September 2020, two high-ranking “admins” — volunteer administrators with special access to Wikipedia, including the ability to alter completely protected articles — had been detained.
Osama Khalid and Ziyad al-Sofiani were the two persons detained, according to DAWN and SMEX. They also said that the arrests looked to be a part of a “crackdown on Wikipedia admins in the country.” Khalid was sentenced to 32 years in prison and Sofiani to eight years, according to Abdullah Alaoudh. Abdullah Alaoudh is the head of research for DAWN in the Gulf.
Ahmad Abouammo, a former employee of Twitter. He was found guilty of offenses such as acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign government. Additionally he was sentenced to three and a half years in jail by a San Francisco court last month.
Abouammo and another Twitter employee Ali Alzabarah, whom the FBI wants. They were allegedly recruited by Saudi officials to get private information about accounts. Accounts that were critical of the Saudi government between late 2014 and early 2015.
