The Signpost

Our volunteer-run, independent newspaper has covered Wikipedia & Wikimedia since 2005.

2025-06-24

In the new Signpost:
* Wikipedia administrators arrested in Belarus
* New "Ethical" LLMs accede to copyright owners' demands but ignore those of Wikipedians
* Russian Wiki-fork flails, failing readers and editors
* A Deep Dive Into Wikimedia (part 3)
and more:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedi

Ruwiki (Wikipedia fork) ads in Moscow on Garden Ring
by user:MBH, CC BY-SA 4.0
2025-05-14

A new Signpost is out!
* Foundation sues over UK government decision that might require identity verification of editors worldwide
* CEO search kicks off as Iskander preps to move on
* On the hunt for sources: Deletion discussions on Swedish Wikipedia
* Technology report: New unique but privacy-preserving browser cookie

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedi

UK technology secretary Peter Kyle, whose decision is being challenged by the Foundation

Peter Kyle Official Cabinet Portrait, July 2024 (cropped) 2.jpg
by Lauren Hurley / No 10 Downing Street, United Kingdom Open Government Licence v3.0.
2025-05-02

A new Signpost is out!
* India cuts off Wikimedia Foundation's funding of the "Access to Knowledge" program
* Trump-nominated prosecutor targets WMF's nonprofit status
* WikiCredCon 2025 report: Wikipedia editors and Internet Archive discuss threats to trust in media
and much more: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedi

Logo of the Access To Knowledge Programme, Centre for Internet Society, Bangalore.
2025-04-10

A new Signpost is out!
* Saudi Wikipedian released from prison
* Wikimedia Foundation launches review of Wikipedias' NPoV (Neutral Point of View) policies
* Wikipedia probably not among the victims of Google's "AI Overviews"
and more:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedi

Osama Khalid and Ziyad Alsufyani (cropped) (by Fjmustak, CC BY-SA 4.0)
2025-03-22

In the new Signpost:
* DMCA takedown ruins Mother's Day: A deeper look at Google's removal notices
* Essay: Unusual biographical images
* Recent research about the impact of ChatGPT on Wikipedia
and more:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedi

Emil Wakim performs stand-up at Union Hall (Brooklyn) on November 3, 2024
by GordonGlottal, CC BY-SA 4.0
The Signpost boosted:
Pax Ahimsa Gethenfuncrunch@me.dm
2025-03-01
2025-02-28

In the new Signpost:
▸ Technology report: Why the wikis go silent twice a year
▸ French Wikipedia fights intimidation by journalist from "Le Point" magazine
▸ Editor tries to remove edits about Hindu nationalist historical figure, citing legal pressure
and more:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedi

Sambhaji Maharaj painting, late 17th century
2025-02-10

In the new Signpost:
▸ ArbCom introduces novel "Balanced editing restriction" in fifth Palestine-Israel articles case
▸ GPT-4 writes better edit summaries than human Wikipedians
▸ 350 Wikimedians and newbies celebrated Wikipedia Day in New York City
and more:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedi

Wikipedia Day NYC 2025 1280px (by SkaterbyAssociation, CC0)
2025-01-15

A new Signpost is out - our 20th anniversary issue!
▸ A look back on The Signpost's first two decades
▸ The {{Calculator}} template: A new form of interactive content on Wikipedia
▸ Meet the Canadian who holds the longest editing streak on Wikipedia
▸ WikiProject Women in Red celebrates their 20% biography milestone
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedi

screenshot of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:BMI_calculator (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The Signpost boosted:
PixDeVl :ratJAM:PixDeVl@wikis.world
2024-12-28

TIL the #wikipedia @WikiSignpost newsletter has an article of its own on Enwiki: en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Si
Interesting read(though I only skimmed), and the See Also section is neat too! Crazy to see it have been mentioned by the New York Times and Fortune

2024-12-27

In the latest Signpost:
▸ EU regulations: Wikipedia's responsibilities and liabilities as a "Very Large Online Platform"
▸ Indian judge says he will check citations in allegedly defamatory Wikipedia article
▸ On being the subject of the first-ever administrator recall
and more:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedi

2024-12-12

A new Signpost is out!
▸ Disinformation report: Sex, power, and money revisited
▸ In the media: "Wikipedia is just as biased as the BBC"
▸ Analysis: Are Wikipedia articles representative of Western or world knowledge?
and more:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedi

2024-11-19

A new Signpost is out!
▸ Open letter to WMF about court case breaks one thousand signatures
▸ How a longtime Wikipedian became an influential voice in AI — and still remains anonymous
▸ WMF and Wikimedia Endowment audit reports
and more: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedi

chart: "Foundation_expense_growth_slowing_-_audit_report" (by ELappen (WMF), CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-11-11

In the latest issue of the Signpost:
▸ All about the Indian court case - Foundation takes down article, but hasn't shared editors' data (yet)
▸ Admin Elections trial concludes, "a significant step forward in terms of reducing administrator attrition"
▸ Why you should take more photos and upload them
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedi

"The Wikimedia Foundation has suspended access to this page due to an order by the Delhi High Court, without prejudice to the Foundation's rights. We are pursuing all available legal options.
We remain committed to access to knowledge as a human right. We are working to ensure that everyone can access and share free knowledge on Wikipedia.

This regards active litigation, and this page will be updated when we are able to share more information."

screenshot of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_News_International_vs._Wikimedia_Foundation  (by Wikimedia Foundation, CC BY-SA 4.0)
2024-10-20

In the new Signpost:
* WMF Board elections results
* Novel admin elections trial attracts a flood of candidates, but can it stop the admin decline?
* Knowledge Equity Fund starts to wrap up
* A WikiCup for the Global South
* Book reviews: "The Editors"

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedi

2024-09-27

In the new Signpost:
• Courts order WMF to give up names of editors, legal strain from "online safety laws"
• A Wikipedian at the 2024 Paralympics
• Admin elections trial: An alternate path to adminship
• Are AI-generated images appropriate as Wikipedia illustrations?
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedi

"[...] WikiProject AI Cleanup searches for AI-generated images and evaluates their suitability for an article. If any images are deemed inappropriate, they may be removed to ensure that only relevant and suitable images are kept in articles. [...]"

(excerpt from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/2024-09-26/Gallery . Text by Wikipedia editors: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/2024-09-26/Gallery&action=history&offset=&limit=500 , CC BY-SA 4.0)
2024-09-04

A new Signpost is out!
▸ Two retrospectives on Wikimania 2024
▸ AI and Wikipedia
▸ Meet the 12 candidates running in the WMF Board of Trustees election
and more: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedi

Main entrance to the International Congress Centre in Katowice with Wikimania branding (2024-08-07_Wikimania_Katowice_1st_day, by Paju~commonswiki, CC BY-SA 4.0)
2024-08-15

A new Signpost is out!
• Portland politician spends $6,400 in taxpayer dollars to "spruce up his profile on Wikipedia"
• The art collector who lost $118,810 to a forger before finding his Wikipedia article
• How far along are we with AI-generated Wikipedia-style articles?
• Discussion report: "Twitter" or "X (social network)"?
and more:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedi

2024-07-05

A new Signpost is out!
• How Russian Wikipedia keeps tabs on disinformation (including whitewashing of govt officials and anti-Ukrainian vandalism) despite a longstanding admin shortage, using unbundling and machine learning
• Wikimedia Movement Charter ratification vote: Pros and cons explained
• Sister projects: On editing Wikisource
• WMF's cloak-and-dagger "Disinformation Response Taskforce" fights election-related fake news
• Crossword
and much more: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedi

Ruwiki's vandalism detection system post in Discord stream (By MBH, CC BY-SA 4.0)
2024-06-08

In the new Signpost:
• Form 990: WMF's net assets reach a quarter billion dollars
• The New York Times, NPR and Reuters block Wikipedia editors from citing their articles
• New Page Patrol receives a much-needed software upgrade
• Public response to the editors of "Settler Colonial Studies"
and more:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedi

Foundation Fiscal Year 2022-2023 Expenses 
11% Fundraising expenses 
43% Technology 
13% General and admin support 
33% Support to volunteers 

Foundation_Form_990_FY_2022-2023_expense_breakdowns, by ELappen (WMF), CC BY-SA 4.0

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