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Wikipedia Was Vandalized With Swastikas, And Volunteers Jumped In To Save It
By Alexa Heah, 17 Aug 2021
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Image via Alexey Boldin / Shutterstock.com
At the start of the week, users on Wikipedia chanced upon images of large swastikas while looking up information. Thankfully, volunteers were on hand to get rid of the upsetting pictures quickly, though it’s unknown how many pages were affected.
The swastikas, which were shown on red backgrounds, were only on the site for about five minutes. Wikipedia told Input that the pictures appeared after a hacker marred one of the site’s templates for page functionality. The site said it also blocked the account responsible for the breach.
“This type of behavior is unacceptable on Wikipedia and violates a number of Wikipedia’s policies. Volunteer administrators have already fixed the vandalism, blocked the account responsible, and will further evaluate the situation to see if additional recourse is needed,” a spokesperson told the site.
As per a spokesperson for Wikipedia, the site has also made changes to the template to prevent any additional breaches in the future. The platform noted that this was a rare move, as it usually advocates for open editing. However, after such an incident, it was decided that the template would be locked going forward.
Despite the unfortunate incident, it’s commendable that volunteers on Wikipedia reacted so swiftly to control the damage, so other users wouldn’t have to experience the hack too.
A few Twitter users who saw the hack took to social media to share the strange happening. Take a look below.
Is Wikipedia hacked? Getting this pop up. #wikipedia #hack pic.twitter.com/pMaFs1R0qt
— Sivakumar S (@sivasskumar) August 16, 2021
Wow - go to Wikipedia now! Looks like it's been hacked. pic.twitter.com/wVKCriERjD
— Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) August 16, 2021
[via Input, cover image via Alexey Boldin / Shutterstock.com]
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