Wikipedia has a critical role to be used as a free and public information source not hidden from anyone. The Iranian regime has been trying to distort the public view and perception of itself and its functions by influencing this platform. The Persian Wikipedia is a manipulated source. Ironically, a concerning matter is that a regime like the Islamic Republic uses all available facilities and laws to manipulate information, censor, and distort facts.
It’s been almost two decades since the Islamic Republic used the global encyclopedia maximum by establishing a substantial strategic investment in the nationwide expansion of the Persian Wikipedia in Iran.
They focused initially on using a group of Iranian Wikipedians associated with the Wikimedia Foundation. Accordingly, the Islamic regime allowed Persian Wikipedia’s contents to be published freely in cyberspace.
Although the media and newspapers are completely under government control in Iran, Wikipedia is not filtered at all. This is due to the extensive use of manipulation and censorship of Wikipedia content both domestically and internationally. It is not cost-effective for them to filter it.
The Iranian regime has been able to influence the public space of the encyclopedia by using the facilities of universities and educational institutions in Iran and hiring a series of users and contributors who can reflect the Islamic Republic’s views on Wikipedia. Not long ago the Times of London presented evidence they systematically tried to distort the information published in Wikipedia articles related to the Iranian regime.
Regime Undercover Workers Censor Truth
The Iranian regime, by using hired users and abusing Wikipedia’s policies, has censored and inserted propaganda in the articles’ contents, including the sections related to human rights violations and the recent nationwide protests.
They have manipulated the articles to conceal their crimes and acts of violence. The regime is working in every way against its citizens.
They have inserted false information under the title of narration instead of verifiable documents that are under the governmental blade of censorship and propaganda. These include pages and topics such as mass executions revealing high government officials engaged and involved in executions and assassinations of terrorist conspiracies and manipulating information related to organizations and people opposed to the Islamic Republic.
In recent years, numerous reports about the Islamic Republic censoring the Persian Wikipedia have been published and some of the agents involved in these governmental goals in Wikipedia are access holders. The regime plans and pays a lot for this important issue.
It seems that after the former Steward Mohsen Salek (User: Mardetanha) who was hired by the regime and served as an administrator and bureaucrat for the Persian Wikipedia was globally banned by the Wikimedia Foundation, the Iranian regime is seeking to replace this access. The possibility of obtaining it from the Wikimedia Foundation inside Iran is limited and its owners will have access to the users’ confidential information.
Mohammad Heydarzadeh, Darfesh Kaviani
Mohammad Heydarzadeh (known as Darfesh Kaviani), one of the managers of Persian Wikipedia, who used to be the companion and assistant of Mohsen Salek in Iran, has gone abroad in the last two years. It seems that he is trying to gain higher and sensitive access to the Wikimedia Foundation by holding numerous webinars on the Internet, press interviews with Persian-language media, and gaining the trust of the Wikipedia community.
In his interviews with Persian-language media, Mohammad Heydarzadeh whitewashed and normalized the history of his attendance at the joint meeting of the Ministry of Guidance of Iran as one of the managers of Persian Wikipedia.
New facts are being discovered through these continuous efforts. According to information received, Mohammad Heydarzadeh is rebuilding the Iranian Wikimedians User Group by receiving funding from the Wikimedia Foundation for travel and accommodation allowances for Wikipedians. He intends to use the opportunity of the CEE Conference (Central Eastern Europe) in Istanbul, Turkey to hold sideline meetings for Iranian Wikimedians from September 20 to 22.
Iranian Wikimedians who participate in this gathering will be publicly identified since more than 99% of the users are present with a virtual identity for security reasons. This can endanger the applicants’ freedom of expression and family and life security. Therefore, it is necessary to be aware of its consequences.
A clear investigation of this matter is very important to maintain freedom of expression and the possibility of using this free and public platform in all Wikimedia Foundation projects, particularly the Persian Wikipedia. It requires careful follow-up by the free and independent society, free websites, and law and human rights institutions.
Persian Wikipedia Users at Risk
It is necessary to follow a transparent and documented process of selecting managers and officials or changing them in Persian Wikipedia through the relevant channels so that the real situation is well defined. The priority of this process should be maintaining the confidentiality and information of users and the Persian Wikipedia community.
Pejman Amiri is a researcher specializing in Middle Eastern affairs, with a particular focus on Iran. His work involves in-depth research on the region’s economic, political, and social issues, supported by the collection and analysis of documents and evidence. he primarily concentrates on Iran’s malign activities in the Middle East.
