Wikipedia’s internal newsletter, The Signpost, has deleted references to a Tablet Magazine exposé by journalist Ashley Rindsberg that accused pro-Palestinian editors of smearing Zionism and manipulating Israel-related pages. The removal was executed by a member of Wikipedia’s powerful Arbitration Committee, sparking accusations of censorship and bias within the online encyclopedia.
Rindsberg’s September 3 article, “Wiki Wars,” alleged that a network of roughly 40 editors — many reportedly foreign — had “systematically pushed extreme anti-Zionist narratives,” including editing Israel- and Gaza-related pages to portray Zionism as equivalent to ethnic cleansing. He linked these editors to over 850,000 combined edits across 10,000 articles.
One example Rindsberg cited was the controversial line in Wikipedia’s “Zionism” article claiming that Zionists sought “as few Palestinian Arabs as possible” in establishing a Jewish state — language he said mirrored anti-Israel propaganda. The editor who first inserted the statement was later banned by Wikipedia’s Arbitration Committee for “consistently non-neutral editing.”
After The Signpost included Rindsberg’s reporting in its “In the media” section, the entire entry was later scrubbed. Public edit logs show that the removal was made by an Arbitration Committee member using “oversight” privileges — a rare tool that hides revisions from the public. Former committee member Doug Weller said the deletion was due to “doxing,” though the names Rindsberg mentioned had already been published by reliable outlets such as the Washington Free Beacon.
Tilman Bayer, a former Wikimedia Foundation employee and long-time Signpost contributor, objected to the suppression, warning that it set a dangerous precedent for internal censorship. “Whether we like it or not, Tablet and National Review are widely read,” Bayer wrote. “There is value for the community in being aware of what kind of viewpoints they push — especially as these reports may inform the current congressional investigation into Wikipedia.”
The episode follows a pattern of the site’s moderators removing coverage critical of Wikipedia, including Breitbart News’s reporting on the 2019 banning of a prominent administrator. Critics say the platform applies its “doxing” and sourcing rules selectively — allowing links to pro-Palestinian media like Al Jazeera while banning outlets such as Breitbart and marginalizing sources that highlight antisemitism or bias against Israel.
The controversy comes as the U.S. House Oversight Committee investigates alleged political manipulation on Wikipedia, focusing on potential foreign interference in articles about the Gaza war and Ukraine. Co-founder Larry Sanger has also condemned the growing secrecy of Wikipedia’s top moderators, calling for reform and transparency regarding the site’s “Power 62” — its small cadre of anonymous high-level enforcers.
