A Powerful Conservative Think Tank Is Targeting One of the Last Good Things on the Internet
«Project 2025’s Creators Want to Dox Wikipedia Editors. The Tool They’re Using Is Horrifying.
The Heritage Foundation plans to “identify and target” Wikipedia editors it accuses of antisemitism.
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Last month, the Jewish-American news site Forward reported a shocking scoop: The Heritage Foundation, the conservative think tank behind Project 2025, is planning to “identify and target” Wikipedia editors. Through analyzing text patterns, usernames, and technical data and employing social-engineering tactics, Heritage aimed to reveal the identities of anonymous Wikipedia editors it believes are “abusing their position” on the platform.
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Even if you take issue with how the site is currently framing the conflict, that doesn’t justify Heritage’s plan. Targeting Wikipedia editors personally, instead of debating their edits on the platform, marks a dangerous escalation. “The document [from Heritage] is sort of vague about what they would do once they ID a person,” journalist and Wikipedia editor Molly White told Forward, “but the things that come to mind are not great.”
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In the documents obtained by Forward, Heritage employees announced plans to use advanced data sources and tools from companies like Moody’s and Thomson Reuters to unmask Wikipedia editors. These powerful applications provide a virtual fire hose of real-time information, including location and address history, cross-referencing usernames, and fingerprinting a user based on writing style.
“Data broker tools can turn doxing into a laser-sharp targeting tool,” Sarah Lamdan, a lawyer and author of Data Cartels, told me.»