Research Article: Wikipedia’s Intentional Distortion of the History of the Holocaust

[Ognistysztorm]

Research Article: Wikipedia’s Intentional Distortion of the History of the Holocaust

This essay uncovers the systematic, intentional distortion of Holocaust history on the English-language Wikipedia, the world’s largest encyclopedia. In the last decade, a group of committed Wikipedia editors have been promoting a skewed version of history on Wikipedia, one touted by right-wing Polish nationalists, which whitewashes the role of Polish society in the Holocaust and bolsters stereotypes about Jews. Due to this group’s zealous handiwork, Wikipedia’s articles on the Holocaust in Poland minimize Polish antisemitism, exaggerate the Poles’ role in saving Jews, insinuate that most Jews supported Communism and conspired with Communists to betray Poles (Żydokomuna or Judeo–Bolshevism), blame Jews for their own persecution, and inflate Jewish collaboration with the Nazis. To explain how distortionist editors have succeeded in imposing this narrative, despite the efforts of opposing editors to correct it, we employ an innovative methodology. We examine 25 public-facing Wikipedia articles and nearly 300 of Wikipedia’s back pages, including talk pages, noticeboards, and arbitration cases. We complement these with interviews of editors in the field and statistical data gleaned through Wikipedia’s tool suites. This essay contributes to the study of Holocaust memory, revealing the digital mechanisms by which ideological zeal, prejudice, and bias trump reason and historical accuracy. More broadly, we break new ground in the field of the digital humanities, modelling an in-depth examination of how Wikipedia editors negotiate and manufacture information for the rest of the world to consume.

[Ognistysztorm]

Volunteer Marek had taken to Twitter to bicker with the authors of the article, alleging that globally banned user Icewhiz had written parts if not all of it. Eric can you pull out any relevant details from the book wiki regarding Volunteer Marek and Icewhiz?

[ericbarbour]

Volunteer Marek had taken to Twitter to bicker with the authors of the article, alleging that globally banned user Icewhiz had written parts if not all of it. Eric can you pull out any relevant details from the book wiki regarding Volunteer Marek and Icewhiz?

The Icewhiz/Eostrix story was covered back in 2021
https://wikipediasucks.co/forum/viewtop ... =19&t=2254

Marek has been fighting with people over the Eastern European nonsense for an even longer time. Icewhiz being one of the opponents. I can't post it all here because there's just too much crap. So just a summary of links from the book wiki. WARNING: these are horrible messes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia: ... rus-Ghirla
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia: ... on/Piotrus
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia: ... n/Digwuren
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia: ... ern_Europe
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia: ... iling_list
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia: ... ia-Biophys

[SkepticalHistorian]

The part about the gas chamber in a railway tunnel made a lot of sense.

The theory, refuted by mainstream historians, contends that KL Warschau was an extermination camp operating a giant gas chamber inside a tunnel near Warszawa Zachodnia railroad station and that 200,000 mainly non-Jewish Poles were gassed there.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warsaw_concentration_camp

Could have used the exhaust from a coal-fired locomotive such as has happened here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balvano_train_disaster

Icewhiz wrote a user page about the Warsaw concentration camp conspiracy theory: How Wikipedia promoted Holocaust distortion for 15 years
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Icew ... acy_theory

[SkepticalHistorian]

Haha, this “Holocaust in Poland” incident is potentially being arbitrated:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia ... _in_Poland

Reliable sources (revisionists, aka Holocaust deniers) proved the gas chamber there was phony.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warsaw_co ... camp_story

Would this inspire other concentration camp gas chamber investigations?

[wexter]

Haha, this “Holocaust in Poland” incident is potentially being arbitrated:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia ... _in_Poland

Reliable sources (revisionists, aka Holocaust deniers) proved the gas chamber there was phony.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warsaw_co ... camp_story

Would this inspire other concentration camp gas chamber investigations?

This is the kind of issue that is "jugular" in that repeated incidents could actually "kill" Wikipedia.

Add in this kind of issue, repeat stir, and add an alternative such as "chat AI" with an improved interface..

[oranges33]

essay may or may not be correct, but even the first sentence of it is wrong

wikipedia is like the third largest encyclopedia or something. there's 2 that are much larger, albeit they do use WP material

[Vortex]

The part about the gas chamber in a railway tunnel made a lot of sense.

The theory, refuted by mainstream historians, contends that KL Warschau was an extermination camp operating a giant gas chamber inside a tunnel near Warszawa Zachodnia railroad station and that 200,000 mainly non-Jewish Poles were gassed there.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warsaw_concentration_camp

Could have used the exhaust from a coal-fired locomotive such as has happened here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balvano_train_disaster

Icewhiz wrote a user page about the Warsaw concentration camp conspiracy theory: How Wikipedia promoted Holocaust distortion for 15 years
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Icew ... acy_theory

I'm not an engineer, but I think it is plausible a coal-fired railway locomotive could be modified by technicians from a gasworks to deliberately produce toxic exhaust. It would be far more cost-effective than using Zyklon because the technical knowhow and equipment needed would already have been on-site in every town in Poland.

It would also leave few traces behind: the locomotive could be put back into service and any additional equipment dismantled and returned to technical stores.

[boredbird]

Reliable sources, Greg…

Piotrus, an editor since 2004,Footnote205 researchs Wikipedia for a living – he has identified himself as Piotr Konieczny, associate professor of Communications at Hanyang University in South Korea.

https://www.facebook.com/piokon/

Piotr Konieczny
piokon@post.pl
Hanyang University ERICA Campus
Department of Information Sociology, Room 210
55 Hanyangdaehak-ro, Sangnok-gu Ansan, Gyeonggi-do, 426-791 Korea

Teaching with Wikipedia in a 21st-century classroom: Perceptions of Wikipedia and its educational benefits

This article explores the current perception of Wikipedia in academia, focusing on both the reasons for its unpopularity among some and the reasons for its growing acceptance among others. First, the reasons that Wikipedia is still struggling to gain acceptance among many academics and higher education professionals are identified. These include common misconceptions about Wikipedia, doubts about its quality, uneasiness with the challenge that it poses to the traditional peer-review system, and a lack of career-enhancing motivations related to using Wikipedia. Second, the benefits of teaching with Wikipedia for educators, students, and the wider society, as discussed in the current teaching literature, are explored. Finally, the article presents an argument for using Wikipedia in a variety of ways to help students develop critical and academic writing skills.

https://asistdl.onlinelibrary.wiley.com ... /asi.23616

I think this demonstrates how Wikipedia can potentially replace traditional textbooks or book chapters. I am not saying Wikipedia articles can replace an in-depth book, but they sure can replace a 20-30 page-long biographical chapter on the significance of a historical figure’s life.

https://diff.wikimedia.org/2016/11/28/piotrus/

Volunteer Marek, who has identified himself in the past as Radek Szulga, associate professor of economics at Lyon College, resorts to offensive language as a matter of course.

https://www.facebook.com/radek.szulga.7/about

Dr. Radek Szulga
Associate Professor of Economics
Office 331 located in the Lyon Business and Economics Building
870.307.7209 | radek.szulga@lyon.edu

https://www.lyon.edu/radekszulga

Radoslaw S Szulga
1355 Dogwood Dr
Batesville, AR 72501
(530) 204-8358

https://www.smartbackgroundchecks.com/p ... mp0ZmNlBQt

https://www.google.com/maps/place/1355+ ... ,+AR+72501

[ericbarbour]

Piotr Konieczny
piokon@post.pl
Hanyang University ERICA Campus
Department of Information Sociology, Room 210
55 Hanyangdaehak-ro, Sangnok-gu Ansan, Gyeonggi-do, 426-791 Korea

Volunteer Marek, who has identified himself in the past as Radek Szulga, associate professor of economics at Lyon College, resorts to offensive language as a matter of course.

Dr. Radek Szulga
Associate Professor of Economics
Office 331 located in the Lyon Business and Economics Building
870.307.7209 | radek.szulga@lyon.edu

Two of the most fanatical editwarriors of all time. Anything to do with Poland, Russia, Ukraine etc. and you will find them right in the thick. And Piotrus is still one of the most despicable Wikipedians I've ever seen, along with his little Estonian pal Digwuren. Only a damn fool gets into all-out fistfights with Russavia.

As I have said before: you know it's a major shitshow when there's an ED article. Apart from the usual antisemitic and childish insults, and being generally outdated (mostly dating from 2009-2010), it remains accurate.
https://encyclopediadramatica.online/Wikipediametric