Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales weighs in on the 'Gaza massacre' article, arguing that the content about Israel committing genocide is not neutral
Wikipedia co-founder
Talk:Gaza genocide - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Gaza_genocide#Statement_from_Jimbo_Wales
Wikipedia row erupts as Jimmy Wales intervenes on 'Gaza genocide' page | The National
https://www.thenational.scot/news/25591165.wikipedia-row-erupts-jimmy-wales-intervenes-gaza-genocide-page/
Wikipedia co-founder joins editing conflict over the Gaza genocide page | The Verge
https://www.theverge.com/news/813245/wikipedia-co-founder-jimmy-wales-gaza-genocide
The English page on 'Gaza Genocide' begins with the statement, 'The Gaza Genocide is the sustained, deliberate, and systematic destruction perpetrated by Israel against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip during the Gaza War.' It then goes on to explain that the International Court of Justice has called on Israel to prevent genocide, and that the UN Commission of Inquiry and Amnesty International have concluded that Israel had genocidal intent as 'the only reasonable inference that can be drawn from the evidence.' It also goes on to state, 'There is a growing consensus that Israel's actions in Gaza amount to genocide. Israel and its supporters deny this accusation.'
The debate surrounding this article has intensified, and on October 28, 2025, a temporary edit lock was put in place to temporarily disable editing of the article. A few days after the change, Wikipedia co-founder Wales weighed in, commenting:
'We believe Wikipedia is at its best when it is based on a commitment to neutral writing, and that this is especially important when it comes to difficult or controversial topics. I was asked about this directly in a prominent media interview, and I responded with transparency and honesty: this article does not meet our high standards and requires immediate action.'
'As many of you know, I lead
'As it stands, the opening and overall statement asserts that 'Israel is committing genocide,' a claim that is strongly disputed. This violates the principles of NPOV and ATTRIBUTEPOV and requires immediate correction. A neutral approach should begin with the following statement: 'Several governments, NGOs and legal institutions support or reject the description of Israel's actions in Gaza as genocide.''
Wales's comments have drawn a variety of responses, including one that said, 'We also need to take into account the fact that the International Court of Justice has not yet ruled on this case. This is an issue that is still under debate, and it is inappropriate to categorically declare it to be genocide,' and another that said, 'To suggest that the most read and discussed article in the community is poorly written is a malicious interpretation of the community. Dozens of hours of discussion went into writing the article.' One user accused Wales of 'being under political pressure, asking us to betray our academic credentials.'
Wales responded, 'External pressure is irrelevant. It's important to record carefully and neutrally, rather than taking sides in a debate.' He also pointed out important background information, including the fact that a user named 'Cdjp1' added 150,039 characters to the 'Gaza Massacre' article, accounting for 41% of the total, while the next most active editor added only 28,000 characters (7.7%), demonstrating bias. He also noted that Cdjp1 was one of the top editors of the ' Charlie Kirk ' article, which Wales called 'biased.' This isn't the first time Cdjp1 has addressed the 'genocide' issue; he was also the largest contributor to a completely different article, ' Accusation of the Palestinian Genocide ,' contributing 40% of the total.
Cdjp1 has also posted numerous opinions on the 'Gaza Massacre' discussion page.
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