August was packed with updates and breakthroughs on the Wikipedia front!

It started with Ravan Al-Taie, one of six finalists for the Wikimedia Foundation’s Board of Trustees, and the frontrunner to win. An in-depth investigation by the WikiBias team revealed that she has spread Hamas propaganda, strongly anti-Israel and antisemitic claims, with baseless arguments (such as “Jesus was Palestinian”).

This is crucial: Wikipedia’s Board of Trustees should be filled with neutral people guided by facts, not religious or ideological bias. Electing candidates who openly push biased agendas has heavy consequences for the platform’s future - which is already struggling with infiltration by the red-green alliance.

We raised awareness on social media, and with the strength of our community we managed to exert real pressure. First, Grok (X’s AI tool) stated explicitly that electing Al-Taie would prove Wikipedia is a biased and unreliable source. For context, Grok is an AI tool people often tag in debates on X, and it relies heavily on Wikipedia among other sources. So its conclusion about Wikipedia in this case was powerful and important.

A few days later, the Wikimedia Foundation announced it was postponing the elections to review the claims against Al-Taie and changing the election process to require neutrality and transparency from candidates. It’s safe to assume she will not be running again.

And that’s not all! Remember how a few months ago we shared that the Attorney General of Washington, D.C. sent a tough letter to the Wikimedia Foundation demanding accountability for Wikipedia’s conduct? Well, just recently the U.S. Congress announced a formal investigation into Wikipedia’s infiltration by foreign actors spreading propaganda.

This is one of the most significant developments ever in the Wikipedia arena. It proves our efforts have real impact. A year ago, nobody was even talking about this - and look where we are now! Slowly and steadily, awareness of antisemitic and anti-Israel bias on the platform is growing beyond social media, leading to serious action.

These changes are thanks to the awareness-raising that all of us in the community take part in. Every small step matters - a like, a share, an email, following WikiBias updates - each one builds into meaningful change that ultimately shapes international perceptions of Jews and Israel.

We’re proud of the progress and will keep pushing forward with full force. We’re on the right path, but there’s still much work to be done, and we need you with us. Remember: antisemitism is not innate; it grows slowly wherever it is allowed to fester.