The online encyclopedia, Wikipedia, claims to be unbiased, yet at least in regard to one issue, it would appear that has chosen a side.
An investigation by Arutz Sheva-Israel National News found that the Arabic version of Wikipedia's articles about the war between Israel and Hamas are heavily biased against Israel and consist of disinformation in Hamas's favor.
Besides the articles, which are written by various editors and readers, the site's interface itself, which is controlled by Wikipedia staff, is blatantly pro-Palestinian.
Upon switching the language settings to Arabic, the site's interface changes: in the right-hand corner, the Wikipedia emblem becomes stylized with the colors of the Palestine Liberation Organization.
In addition, on the top of the page, a banner appears bearing a ribbon with the colors of the PLO flag and a Palestinian Qeffiyah and the words (in Arabic): "In solidarity with the rights of the Palestinian people, No to genocide in Gaza.... No to killing civilians. No to targeting hospitals and schools.... No to deception and double standards. Stop the war .... and spread just and comprehensive peace."
It is needless to say that the banner makes no mention of the fact that Israel's war against the Hamas terrorist organization was launched in response to the October 7th attack during which Hamas and other terror organizations murdered over 1200 people and took over 250 hostages.
Embedded in the banner are links to various Wikipedia articles pertaining to the war.
The articles, some of which have versions in English as well, are written in a manner that in no way can be considered unbiased, with some presenting unconfirmed reports or even blatant lies as facts.
For instance: Linked to the words "No to targeting hospitals and schools" is an article about the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital explosion which was found by an independent US investigation as well as others to have been caused by a misfired rocket from within the Gaza Strip. However, the Arabic version of the article, which is linked to the banner, presents the event in a biased manner, claiming that Israel was responsible and even referring to it as a "massacre" and stating that any alternative claims are "Israeli propaganda".
Clicking on the words "No to deception and double standards" leads to a section titled "Israeli Propaganda" which states, among other things: "During Operation Al-Aqsa Flood (Hamas' name for the October 7th massacre), Israel practiced strong propaganda in its favor through its multiple media arms and through its intelligence services, most notably Unit 8200, which specializes in electronic warfare. Since the first hours of the battle, Tel Aviv tried to publish a lot of false and misleading news or other news without real evidence in an attempt to link Palestinian resistance factions to terrorism and gain international sympathy."
The Arabic versions of other articles also present a strong pro-Palestinian bias. The article about the war refers to the October 7th massacre as "Al-Aqsa Flood" and the Hamas terrorist organization as the "Palestinian resistance." It also claims that the cause of the war was "Israeli violations in the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem," "the increase in hostile decisions against the Palestinians due to the Israeli government’s tendency towards the extreme right," and "The siege on Gaza has continued since 2006 (17 years)." In other articles, the IDF is referred to as the "Israeli occupation forces."
The words "No to killing civilians" are linked to a list titled: "Massacres during the 2023 Israel–Hamas war." While the English version of this list lists the various locations where the Hamas terror organization slaughtered Israeli civilians, the Arabic version features a long list of various "massacres" in which Israeli forces allegedly killed supposed non-combatants.
Arutz Sheva-Israel National News reached out to Wikipedia for comment but at the time of publication has yet to receive a response.