{"id":22110,"date":"2015-09-02T05:40:47","date_gmt":"2015-09-02T09:40:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/?p=22110"},"modified":"2015-09-01T20:38:04","modified_gmt":"2015-09-02T00:38:04","slug":"scam-fraud-and-blackmail-at-wikipedia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2015\/09\/scam-fraud-and-blackmail-at-wikipedia\/","title":{"rendered":"Scam, fraud, and blackmail at Wikipedia"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Wikipedia has banned 381 of its editors for scamming and in some cases extorting small businesses and celebrities, taking money to get favorable articles approved and \u201cprotected.\u201d<\/p>\n

From Wikipedia rocked by \u2018rogue editors\u2019 blackmail scam targeting small businesses and celebrities \u2013 Crime \u2013 UK \u2013 The Independent<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Hundreds of small British businesses and minor celebrities have been targeted by a sophisticated blackmail scam orchestrated by \u201crogue editors\u201d at Wikipedia, The Independent can reveal.<\/p>\n

The victims, who range from a wedding photographer in Dorset to a high-end jewellery shop in Shoreditch, east London, faced demands for hundreds of pounds to \u201cprotect\u201d or update Wikipedia pages about their businesses. A former Britain\u2019s Got Talent contestant was among dozens of individuals targeted.<\/p>\n

\n

Wikipedia has taken action against what it described as the \u201cco-ordinated group\u201d of fraudsters by blocking 381 accounts. An investigation had found that the accounts were controlled by Wikipedia users offering to change articles about companies and private individuals in exchange for payment.<\/p>\n

In some cases, the requests for money amounted to blackmail, Wikipedia told The Independent.<\/p>\n

[Keep reading. . .]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote><\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wikipedia has banned 381 of its editors for scamming and in some cases extorting small businesses and celebrities, taking money to get favorable articles approved and \u201cprotected.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1281,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[600,44],"tags":[2357],"class_list":["post-22110","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-crime","category-technology","tag-wikipedia"],"yoast_head":"\nScam, fraud, and blackmail at Wikipedia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Wikipedia has banned 381 of its editors for scamming and in some cases extorting small businesses and celebrities, taking money to get favorable articles\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2015\/09\/scam-fraud-and-blackmail-at-wikipedia\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Scam, fraud, and blackmail at Wikipedia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Wikipedia has banned 381 of its editors for scamming and in some cases extorting small businesses and celebrities, taking money to get favorable articles\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2015\/09\/scam-fraud-and-blackmail-at-wikipedia\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Cranach\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/cranachblog\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-09-02T09:40:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2015-09-02T00:38:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Gene Veith\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Gene Veith\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2015\/09\/scam-fraud-and-blackmail-at-wikipedia\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2015\/09\/scam-fraud-and-blackmail-at-wikipedia\/\",\"name\":\"Scam, fraud, and blackmail at Wikipedia\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2015-09-02T09:40:47+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2015-09-02T00:38:04+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#\/schema\/person\/f9ca8670bcc51908a78994c0484dbfa1\"},\"description\":\"Wikipedia has banned 381 of its editors for scamming and in some cases extorting small businesses and celebrities, taking money to get favorable articles\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2015\/09\/scam-fraud-and-blackmail-at-wikipedia\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2015\/09\/scam-fraud-and-blackmail-at-wikipedia\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2015\/09\/scam-fraud-and-blackmail-at-wikipedia\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Scam, fraud, and blackmail at Wikipedia\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/\",\"name\":\"Cranach\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#\/schema\/person\/f9ca8670bcc51908a78994c0484dbfa1\",\"name\":\"Gene Veith\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/054d79faea5d476edd8f99e5f14fb17f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/054d79faea5d476edd8f99e5f14fb17f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Gene Veith\"},\"description\":\"Gene Edward Veith, Jr. is a writer and retired literature professor, serving as Provost Emeritus at Patrick Henry College. 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