ADL Facing Wikipedia Ban Due to Bias, Misinformation

An overwhelming majority of editors involved in the debate about the ADL also voted to deem the organization unreliable on the topic of antisemitism, its core focus. A formal declaration on that count is expected next.

The decision about Israel-related citations, made last week, means that one of the most prominent and longstanding Jewish advocacy groups in the United States -- and one historically seen as the leading U.S. authority on antisemitism -- is now grouped together with the National Inquirer, Newsmax, and Occupy Democrats as a source of propaganda or misinformation in the eyes of the online encyclopedia.

Moreover, in a near consensus, dozens of Wikipedia editors involved in the discussion said they believe the ADL should not be cited for factual information on antisemitism as well because it acts primarily as a pro-Israel organization and tends to label legitimate criticism of Israel as antisemitism.

"ADL no longer appears to adhere to a serious, mainstream and intellectually cogent definition of antisemitism, but has instead given into the shameless politicization of the very subject that it was originally esteemed for being reliable on," wrote an editor known as Iskandar323, whose request for a discussion about the ADL ultimately led to the ban.

[...] A relatively small minority of editors sought to defend the ADL, arguing that the organization's statistics and analysis are widely cited by many news outlets that are themselves trusted by Wikipedia. The defenders said critics of the group managed to show that the ADL may be biased or partisan but not that it publishes false information.

Editors supporting the ban focused on the ADL's conduct following Oct. 7, Israel's subsequent war with Hamas and the wave of pro-Palestinian demonstrations on college campuses.

Many editors said the organization had undermined its credibility by altering how it categorizes antisemitic incidents. Its new methodology included many pro-Palestinian protests in its annual audit of antisemitism, which reported a large spike over the previous year.

Also cited were a series of controversial statements by ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt, who has claimed student protests were Iranian proxies, compared the keffiyeh head scarf to the swastika, praised Elon Musk after he promoted an antisemitic post on his social media platform X, and compared anti-Zionism to white supremacy. Editors pointed to news reporting about a staff revolt in January against Greenblatt's statements.

The two sides lingered on a controversial definition of antisemitism that the ADL embraces. Authored by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, the so-called IHRA definition has been endorsed by hundreds of universities, companies, and local governments, as well as the U.S. House of Representatives. But the definition has also proven contentious with critics who say the definition is too broad and could be used to stifle pro-Palestinian speech.