Croatian Wikipedia
Croatian-language edition of Wikipedia From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Croatian Wikipedia is the Croatian language edition of Wikipedia. This edition was introduced in February 2003. As of October 2015, it was the 41st largest edition of Wikipedia by number of articles.[1]
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Far-right takeover scandal
2009–21
In September 2013, complaints of far-right bias on the Croatian Wikipedia began to capture the spotlight when the Facebook page Razotkrivanje sramotne hr.wikipedije ("Exposing the disgraceful Croatian Wikipedia") revealed the issues. As per Jurica Pavičić, a professor at the University of Split, far-right administrators were found to have blocked dozens of rule-abiding users since 2009 for removing false content related to Croatia's politics and WWII history.[2] Meanwhile, Robert Kurelić, a history professor at the Juraj Dobrila University of Pula, commented that the Croatian Wikipedia[3]
| “ | [was] used by its administrators to promote [...] false and distorted facts [. ...] exploit high-school and university students [...] change their opinions and attitudes. | ” |
Notably, the war crimes of the pro-Nazi Ustaše-ruled Independent State of Croatia (NDH)[4] were censored by the far-right administrators.[2] Željko Jovanović, the Minister of Science of Croatia back then, also advised against the use of the Croatian Wikipedia.[5] The most serious violation by the far-right administrators was their anti-historical designation of the Jasenovac concentration camp, in which 77,000–99,000 were killed,[6] as a "collection camp". These were condemned by scholars, officials, advocacy groups and media critics as antisemitic Holocaust denial.[7][8]
2021
Following a year-long investigation by the Wikimedia Foundation, several complicit editors and administrators were either banned or demoted, with one of the administrators found to have consolidated his or her power with 80 sockpuppet accounts.[9]
2023
In a 57-page article analyzing disinformation on Wikipedia, Prof. Jan Grabowski and Dr. Shira Klein remarked,[7]
| “ | Wikipedia’s administrators have largely failed to uphold Wikipedia’s policies [. ...] has been unable to deal with the issue of persistent distortion [...] Wikipedia’s articles [...] have become a hub of misinformation and antisemitic canards. | ” |
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Current status
As of July 2024, around 135 editors were reportedly making 5+ edits per month.[10]
Related pages
Footnotes
References
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