Mediaboss Marketing

Google is going to start paying for its use of Wikipedia information to help power its knowledge panels in Google Search. The search giant, along with the digital library the Internet Archive, are the first customers for the still relatively new commercial product launched by the Wikimedia Foundation the nonprofit that operates Wikipedia. Its new service, Wikimedia Enterprise, offers access to Wikimedia content to companies that reuse and source Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects at a high volume.

For years, Google has used information from Wikipedia to offer web searchers quick answers and basic facts through the use of what it called knowledge panels, first introduced in 2012. This feature pulls information from freely available online resources, including Wikipedia, Google Books and other sources. Other tech giants have also leveraged Wikipedias information in their own products. Facebook, for example, in 2020 had tested Wikipedia-powered information panels similar to Googles. Apple today returns Wikipedia-powered results in its Spotlight Search feature.

Various tech companies large and small have also relied on Wikipedia data to enhance their own products and services.

The Wikimedia Enterprise service has been live for a year, servicing commercial customers on an opt-in basis. However, it hadnt announced its first customers until now. With Wikimedia Enterprise, customers of any size gain access to the services offerings including customer support and Service Level Agreements at prices based on their volume of use, much like any other product aimed at businesses. Theres also a self-serve free trial offering 10,000 on-demand requests and unlimited access to a 30-day Snapshot.

The organization says the product is now covering its current operating costs and has a growing list of users who are exploring its use. But it is not a requirement to use the commercial product, even if the customer accessing the data is large, like Google. All Wikimedia projects, including its suite of publicly available datasets, tools and APIs the Wikimedia Foundation offers will continue to be available for free use to all users, the foundation said in a June announcement.

As a result of their deal, Google and Wikimedia said theyre working together to make the content sourcing process more efficient.

Wikipedia is a unique and valuable resource, created freely for the world by its dedicated volunteer community, said Tim Palmer, managing director, Search Partnerships at Google. We have long supported the Wikimedia Foundation in pursuit of our shared goals of expanding knowledge and information access for people everywhere. We look forward to deepening our partnership with Wikimedia Enterprise, further investing in the long-term sustainability of the foundation and the knowledge ecosystem it continues to build.

Meanwhile, the Internet Archive, which runs the digital archive known as the Wayback Machine, will leverage the commercial service as well to improve its own offerings.

The Wikimedia Foundation and the Internet Archive are long-term partners in the mission to provide universal and free access to knowledge. By drawing from a real-time feed of newly added links and references in Wikipedia sites in all its languages, we can now archive more of the web more quickly and reliably, said Mark Graham, director of the Internet Archives Wayback Machine.

The commercial product was a part of the Wikimedia Foundations long-term strategy, which included recommendations involving advancing knowledge equity and knowledge as a service, it said.

Correction, 6/29/22, 5:36pm et: The Internet Archive will be leveraging the enterprise service but will not be a paying customer, we understand. Weve updated to correct this.

Originally posted here:
Google and the Internet Archive are the first customers to gain commercial access to Wikipedia content - TechCrunch

On June 6, 2022, the Wikimedia Foundation, the owner of Wikipedia, filed an appeal against a Moscow courts order to remove prohibited information in articles regarding the war in Ukraine.

In their statement released on June 13th, the Wikimedia Foundation argued that the information at issue is fact-based and verified by volunteers its removal would therefore constitute a violation of peoples rights to free expression and access to knowledge. Additionally, according to the Wikimedia Foundation, Wikipedia does not fall under Russian jurisdiction because it is a global resource available to anyone worldwide.

Wikipedia has consistently been an easily accessible online source of information, gathering material from hundreds of thousands of volunteers globally. It is routinely fact-checked, and its contributors take time to properly vet the details they publish. Therefore, Wikipedia is a credible source for documenting widely reported facts about the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Russias attempt to silence Wikipedia threatens to further harm regular Russian citizens who deserve to know about their governments actions. The Wikimedia Foundation filing this appeal sends a clear message to the Russian government that they will not be deterred from spreading accurate news, a commendable pushback to Russian aggression.

Threats of legal action from Russia arose shortly after the initial attacks on Ukraine in late February 2022 when volunteers began posting information on Russian Wikipedia detailing the events that were taking place. Some of these articles include Russian Invasions of Ukraine (2022), Battle for Kyiv, War Crimes During the Russian Invasion of Ukraine, Shelling of Hospital in Mariupol, Bombing of the Mariupol Theater, and Massacre in Bucha.

As early as March 1, 2022, Roskomnadzor, Russias federal agency in charge of monitoring and censoring Russian mass media sent a demand to the Wikimedia Foundation to remove content related to the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine posted by volunteer contributors to Russian Wikipedia. However, the Wikimedia Foundation defended all of the mentioned articles, expressing that they were centered around fact-based information. Later on March 31st, Roskomnadzor published a statement confirming their actions to remove inaccurate information on the subject of a special military operation of the RF Armed Forces in Ukraine, aimed at misinforming Russian users. When the Wikimedia Foundation defended and refused to take down the articles, a Moscow court issued a 5 million rubles (approximately $86,000) fine in April.

The legal standing that the Moscow court cited when issuing this fine was from a law enacted by President Putin in early March, which bans the spread of false information about the activities of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, according to Kommersant, a Russian news source. Roskomnadzor argued that all the Wikipedia articles previously mentioned include prohibited information, and the Moscow court concurred with this finding.

This case with Wikipedia is only one instance within a larger issue where valuable information is being blocked from Russian citizens in order to protect the governments image and shape the narrative surrounding the invasion of Ukraine. Since early March, social media and news coverage have drastically changed in Russia, with Twitter and Facebook being blocked and dozens of journalists being banned from the country.

As international news coverage becomes harder to access in Russia, it is critical that the Moscow court accepts the Wikimedia Foundations appeal and allows the continuation of its publications in Russia. Russians must be accurately informed about their governments continued attacks on a sovereign state, and Putins administration must be held accountable for its role in this war. If millions of people do not have access to factual accounts of these recent events, it will be significantly more difficult to reach an end to the violence and begin taking steps toward negotiations.

The rest is here:
Wikipedia Fights Russian Order to Remove Ukraine War Information - The Organization for World Peace

Sport

28 Jun, 2022 09:34 PM2 minutes to read

The All Blacks have been forced to adjust as three coaches and two players have been hit by Covid just days before their first test with Ireland.Video / NZ Rugby

The All Blacks have been targeted by an online vandal ahead of the test series against Ireland, with their Wikipedia page edited to follow a "New Zealand English style guide".

The vandal hilariously skewered the Kiwi accent with a rogue edit - and added their own comment.

"The New Zealand netional rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blecks by Kiwis but uncorrictly spilled All Blacks on uts logo, riprisints New Zealand in min's unternetional rugby union, whuch us consudered the country's netional sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987, 2011 and 2015," the edited page read.

"They're choice, bro," the prankster added.

The page went on to describe the breadth of the All Blacks' success, in a cringingly-familiar tone.

"New Zealand hes a sivinty-sivin per-cint wunning ricord un tist-match rugby, and has sucured more wuns thin losses aginst iviry tist opponent," it read.

"Sunce their unternetional debut un 1903,[6] New Zealand teams have played tist metches aginst 19 nations, of whuch ilivin hev niver won a game aginst the All Blecks. The team has also played aginst three multinetional all-star teams, losing only eight of 45 matches.

"Since the untroduction of the World Rugby Renkings in 2003, New Zealand has held the number-one renking longer thin all other teams combined. They jointly hold the ricord for the most consicutive tist match wuns for a tier-one renked nation, along with Ungland."

The changes, made by Wikipedia user Celebi12, were quickly removed - but not before they were noticed by eagle-eyed Kiwis.

The identity of Celebi12 remains a mystery but their Wikipedia edits show they appear to take an interest in English football - and record that they have previously been warned for "disruptive editing".

Sorry, dusruptive iditing.

Continued here:
All Blacks Wikipedia page edited to mock New Zealand accent - New Zealand Herald

Charles Booker| Opinion Contributor

Election lies spawn deadly assault on US Capitol

Ample video evidence has emerged over the last year of what happened during the riot at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. It rebuts former President Donald Trump's persistent promotion of lies about the attack and about the 2020 election.(Jan. 5)

AP

The recent hearings on the Jan. 6 insurrection make one thing crystal clear: There are members of Congress, more specifically the Senate, who violated their oath to protect our democracy. Rand Pauls one of those members.

As Rep. Liz Cheney said, theres no room for debate. The violent mob of insurrectionists stormed our capitol, beat, tasedand degraded capitol police, and sought to kill the Vice President and members of Congress. If it were up to senators like Paul, there would be no accountability, which poses a danger and a threat to our security.

Read Rand Paul's Response: To imply that I supported arguments to overturn the election is a lie

Why did Paul dismiss the harrowing testimony and statements of capitol police officers who shared their experience during the Jan. 6 attempted coup the day an officer was killed trying to protect him and his colleagues against a vicious mob? Why does he oppose efforts to invest in community safety to protect our families?

The insurrection, which was described as carnage and chaos by a Capitol police officer, was a physical manifestation of the weakening of our democracy. Videos from Jan. 6, 2021, accompanying testimonies, underscore how important it is for Kentuckians to understand the severity of that day and the impact itll have on our nation for years to come. An understanding that Paul himself purposely refuses to grasp, as he calls these hearings a partisan witch hunt.

Documents entered into the record reveal that the group that organized the insurrection printed Rand Paul…We the people love you on their plans to storm capitol buildings. If thats the surface, its fair to ask if digging deeper would cast an even more damning light on Pauls involvement in the events of that day. Paul doesnt want you to discover he abandoned and violated his oath to uphold the Constitution and protect our democracy.

"Thanks to your [expletive], we are under siege." Those are the words from Greg Jacob, former counsel to Mike Pence, to Trump-allied lawyer John Eastman. Rand Paul has no problems associating with the same people who organized that siege. Because to Paul, an allegiance to the corrupt establishment is stronger than an allegiance to the truth and the people of Kentucky who he has continuously failed torepresent.

More: Kentucky woman who took video selfie inside US Capitol takes plea deal in Jan. 6 riot case

Kentuckians are tired of being deceived, especially by those who say theyll fight for us in DC. Pauls lies weaken our democracy by empowering those who seek to come to power by corruption and cheating, rather than by the will of the people of Kentucky and the people of the United States. Protecting our democracy is more than protecting the right to vote. Protecting our democracy is going to DC bound to the voters who elected you. Protecting our democracy is upholding the will of the people of Kentucky. Paul failed in his duty to protect our democracy on all accounts.

If Kentucky is to regain our power in Congress, we must start with replacing politicians like Rand Paul, who divide us, disrespect us, and hold us back rather than uniting us and delivering for our commonwealth. I believe our democracy and Kentucky is worth fighting for because I know there are people in every corner of Kentucky, from the hood to the holler, whose lives depend on our voice being heard. I believe our race will decide the fate of democracy. Ill respectfully uphold my oath, when elected to the U.S. Senate, to protect democracy.

Charles Booker is aDemocratic candidate for Senator in Kentucky,running against Sen. Rand Paul.

View original post here:
Booker: If it were up to Rand Paul, there would be no accountability for insurrectionists - Courier Journal

WASHINGTON, D.C. Today, Senator Rick Scott released a weekly update on his actions to address Americas debt crisis and rising inflation following the announcement that the Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) price index increased 6.3% percent over the year under Joe Bidens failed leadership.

As families across America continue to suffer under President Joe Bidens record-breaking inflation, earlier this week Senator Rick Scott led his colleagues from the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Senators Ron Johnson, Josh Hawley, James Lankford and Rand Paul, in letter to Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen demanding answers on how the Department prepared for inflation early in 2021. The senators are also requesting records pertaining to the American Rescue Plan, specifically those regarding the Treasurys actions to combat the known dangers of inflation following the reckless spending spree after the bills passage in March 2021. Read more in the Washington Examiner HERE.

Since being elected to the U.S. Senate, Senator Scott has repeatedly urged action to address Americas debt crisis and the harmful effects of inflation. ClickHEREfor a comprehensive list of his statements and actions on this urgent issue.

See more from this week on Twitter:

###

The rest is here:
Sen. Rick Scott Issues Weekly Update on Biden's Inflation Crisis - Senator Rick Scott