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BumRushDaShow

(151,381 posts)
Sat Apr 26, 2025, 06:29 PM Saturday

Trump's D.C. Prosecutor Is Going After Wikipedia For Allegedly Spreading 'Propaganda'

Source: Huff Post

Apr 26, 2025, 02:51 PM EDT | Updated 9 minutes ago


The nonprofit group that runs Wikipedia was threatened by Ed Martin, the interim United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, in a letter accusing it of “allowing foreign actors to manipulate information and spread propaganda to the American public.” “Wikipedia is permitting information manipulation on its platform, including the rewriting of key, historical events and biographical information of current and previous American leaders, as well as other matters implicating the national security and the interests of the United States,” Martin wrote in a letter dated Thursday that was first reported by The Free Press.

The letter accuses the Wikimedia Foundation, the organization behind the online encyclopedia, of violating a tax code that requires nonprofits to operate exclusively for “religious, charitable, scientific, testing for public safety, literary, or educational purposes.” Investigations into the tax-exempt statuses of nonprofits are usually handled by the Internal Revenue Service, not criminal prosecutors, The Free Press noted, citing the IRS complaint process.

Martin said in the letter that his office received information that Wikipedia’s “information management policies” have benefited “foreign powers.” He claimed that Wikipedia subverts “the interests of American taxpayers” due to its board being made up “primarily of foreign nationals.”

“Masking propaganda that influences public opinion under the guise of providing informational material is antithetical to Wikimedia’s ‘educational’ mission,” Martin wrote. Martin had no experience as a prosecutor before President Donald Trump appointed him to his current role on an interim basis in January. Trump has since nominated him to remain in the position permanently.

Read more: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/ed-martin-trump-threathens-wikipedia_n_680d17bbe4b06b5c9fc8d713

31 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Trump's D.C. Prosecutor Is Going After Wikipedia For Allegedly Spreading 'Propaganda' (Original Post) BumRushDaShow Saturday OP
And how about fox news too ? vapor2 Saturday #1
X ? {un}TruthSocial ? Bernardo de La Paz Saturday #4
This needs to stop.................. Lovie777 Saturday #2
Headed for 1A colission. bucolic_frolic Saturday #3
Wikipedia's description of the Jan 6 Capitol attack fails to support the Trump Administration's Official Lie. thought crime Saturday #5
snork. AllaN01Bear Saturday #6
how about sinclar radio and or the enoch times ? AllaN01Bear Saturday #7
Well that will bring the cost of groceries down. SunSeeker Saturday #8
Jockularity Iamscrewed Saturday #9
Irony is dead, when the right wing starts accusing others of "propaganda". nt eppur_se_muova Saturday #10
Trump and his goons GenThePerservering Saturday #11
"allowing foreign actors to manipulate information and spread propaganda to the American public." Botany Saturday #12
Sorry, buster, that's what they DO. elleng Saturday #13
If "spreading propaganda" is a crime, then a lot of Republican politicians, churches and organizations Jack Valentino Saturday #14
Oh, really? Just wait til this guy finds out about Fox "News" DFW Saturday #15
Are we in the 1930s again? groundloop Saturday #16
Funny how they did away with any agency investigating outside propaganda and would go after wiki. Historic NY Yesterday #17
So Wikipedia is now on Trump's shit list. Lionel Mandrake Yesterday #18
Thats exactly what fox news does. Exactly. oldmanlynn Yesterday #19
So does Trump Jarqui Yesterday #26
Probably because Wiki says he lost the election fair & square. JohnnyRingo Yesterday #20
isn't Rupert a foreign national? Astraea Yesterday #21
Knew that was coming some time. Time is now. twodogsbarking Yesterday #22
"Acting" Martin acts on hearsay. May the felon's puppet never be confirmed. May he stay "interim." ancianita Yesterday #23
Ed Martin is the worst of the worst. sop Yesterday #27
Sounds like The Wizard Yesterday #24
CIA manipulates Wikipedia. FBI, too. Kid Berwyn Yesterday #25
Thank you for this. WikiScanner can provide the evidence to countersue Martin for wrongly attacking Wikipedia ancianita Yesterday #30
I periodally make edits for local or historical stuff.... Historic NY Yesterday #28
Trump will get clobbered again. Each time we grow stronger and more resolved. GreenWave Yesterday #29
I just donated to Wikipedia (wikimedia I think) SupportSanity 3 hrs ago #31

bucolic_frolic

(50,014 posts)
3. Headed for 1A colission.
Sat Apr 26, 2025, 06:40 PM
Saturday

America is being stripped of its right to think. Once they sterilize all thought, USA will be uncompetitive with everywhere.

thought crime

(178 posts)
5. Wikipedia's description of the Jan 6 Capitol attack fails to support the Trump Administration's Official Lie.
Sat Apr 26, 2025, 07:26 PM
Saturday

Same with many other topics.

Botany

(73,956 posts)
12. "allowing foreign actors to manipulate information and spread propaganda to the American public."
Sat Apr 26, 2025, 09:21 PM
Saturday


Please mother fuckers. In 2016 the Trump campaign didn’t get foreign help?

So Russia didn’t hacked the DNC and HRC’s servers and then edited the data and then sent it back as
complete misinformation via Facebook, Cambridge Analytica, Fox, and social media?

Jack Valentino

(1,910 posts)
14. If "spreading propaganda" is a crime, then a lot of Republican politicians, churches and organizations
Sat Apr 26, 2025, 10:36 PM
Saturday

are certainly guilty of it!

DFW

(57,833 posts)
15. Oh, really? Just wait til this guy finds out about Fox "News"
Sat Apr 26, 2025, 11:28 PM
Saturday

Then, he'll really have his hands full!

groundloop

(12,791 posts)
16. Are we in the 1930s again?
Sat Apr 26, 2025, 11:37 PM
Saturday

We're sure the hell seeing history repeating itself, I pray this madman can be stopped while we still have something resembling a country.

Lionel Mandrake

(4,161 posts)
18. So Wikipedia is now on Trump's shit list.
Sun Apr 27, 2025, 01:32 AM
Yesterday

It sounds as if Wikipedia is doing something right.

I just sent them some money.

oldmanlynn

(644 posts)
19. Thats exactly what fox news does. Exactly.
Sun Apr 27, 2025, 01:44 AM
Yesterday

They are only trying to silence opposition. We have to stand up against this.

Jarqui

(10,629 posts)
26. So does Trump
Sun Apr 27, 2025, 09:11 AM
Yesterday

permits "information manipulation ... including the rewriting of key, historical events and biographical information of current and previous American leaders, as well as other matters implicating the national security and the interests of the United States,”

JohnnyRingo

(19,864 posts)
20. Probably because Wiki says he lost the election fair & square.
Sun Apr 27, 2025, 02:46 AM
Yesterday

Or that climate change is real.
You know, all the woke stuff.

ancianita

(40,368 posts)
23. "Acting" Martin acts on hearsay. May the felon's puppet never be confirmed. May he stay "interim."
Sun Apr 27, 2025, 08:22 AM
Yesterday

Martin can "accuse" and harass all he wants while he wastes taxpayer money. Wikipedia should file suit against Martin and demand discovery. If an acting head of government is alleged to have violated someone's constitutional rights while acting within their official capacity, a lawsuit could be brought against them in their individual capacity.

sop

(13,868 posts)
27. Ed Martin is the worst of the worst.
Sun Apr 27, 2025, 09:14 AM
Yesterday

Trump has appointed and nominated a lot of thoroughly corrupt scumbags to important positions, but this guy takes the prize.

Kid Berwyn

(20,111 posts)
25. CIA manipulates Wikipedia. FBI, too.
Sun Apr 27, 2025, 08:57 AM
Yesterday
CIA and FBI computers used for Wikipedia edits

By Reuters, August 16, 2007

By Randall Mikkelsen
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - People using CIA and FBI computers have edited entries in the online encyclopedia Wikipedia on topics including the Iraq war and the Guantanamo prison, according to a new tracing program.

The changes may violate Wikipedia's conflict-of-interest guidelines, a spokeswoman for the site said on Thursday.

The program, WikiScanner, was developed by Virgil Griffith of the Santa Fe Institute in New Mexico and posted this month on a Web site that was quickly overwhelmed with searches.

The program allows users to track the source of computers used to make changes to the popular Internet encyclopedia where anyone can submit and edit entries.

WikiScanner revealed that CIA computers were used to edit an entry on the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. A graphic on casualties was edited to add that many figures were estimated and were not broken down by class.

Another entry on former CIA chief William Colby was edited by CIA computers to expand his career history and discuss the merits of a Vietnam War rural pacification program that he headed.

Continues…

https://www.reuters.com/article/technology/cia-and-fbi-computers-used-for-wikipedia-edits-idUSN16428960/

Ed Martin must be a fucking moron. Nobody tell him.

PS: The “Vietnam War rural pacification program” Colby headed was Operation PHOENIX . . it murdered more than 40,000 people merely on suspicion of being, or just helping, the communist North..

ancianita

(40,368 posts)
30. Thank you for this. WikiScanner can provide the evidence to countersue Martin for wrongly attacking Wikipedia
Sun Apr 27, 2025, 12:25 PM
Yesterday

for what others in this government do. Wikipedia's huge team are smart enough to have WikiScanner developed so as to know how to trace edits to original IP addresses, although IP's would've been harder for WikiScanner to trace if the CIA (which uses Tor for comms and intel gathering purposes) & FBI had used Tor routing.

Historic NY

(38,898 posts)
28. I periodally make edits for local or historical stuff....
Sun Apr 27, 2025, 10:39 AM
Yesterday

I wonder how AI is going to impact Wiki, because there is a lot of misinformation coming in droves.

SupportSanity

(1,404 posts)
31. I just donated to Wikipedia (wikimedia I think)
Mon Apr 28, 2025, 04:43 PM
3 hrs ago

This stuff is going to take money. And the other side now has pro-bono attorneys.

I wish there was more I can do.

Trumped up charges are going to be flying fast and furious at favorite institutions.

Support them if you can.

Donate to libraries, wikipedia, protest groups, whatever you can.

Now is the time. There might not be a later.

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