2023-12-17 15:51:26
A battle of politically motivated digital narratives has been evident, since the beginning of this month, behind the scenes of the page “Guayana Droughts” in English Wikipedia. The dispute online – which can be followed, liveby anyone interested in the subject – demonstrates that attempts to bring the truth to light, collaboratively and in the midst of a geopolitical crisis, is not only an extremely difficult exercise, but also something that demands intense dedication.
Between December 1 and 10, 2023, the page created in 2006 to inform the English-speaking world regarding the territory of more than 150,000 square kilometers disputed by Venezuela and Guyana – which had a leading role in the news in recent days – has collected more than 130 comments, in addition to having been modified several times in a matter of minutes. Throughout 2022, the same Wikipedia entry received just three comments. In 2021, none.
The battle of narratives observed in the most famous digital encyclopedia in the world is a direct consequence of the decision of the Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro, to incorporate the Essequibo region to the map of his country.
On December 3, Maduro held a controversial referendum to find out what his fellow citizens thought regarding the sovereignty of the region that has been under the administration of Guyana since 1899 and saw that 95% of voters said “yes” to the annexation of that territory. as if it were a new state of Venezuela.
Since 2015, when a consortium led by ExxonMobil discovered important oil deposits off the coast of Essequibo, Maduro has known (and the planet) that the region became economically attractive and strategically important. As of 2019, with the beginning of oil extraction in the area, Guyana stopped being a largely agricultural nation to become the world’s fourth largest producer of offshore crude oil. And Maduro knows he can take advantage of this.
Hours following learning the result of the referendum, the Venezuelan president determined that his administration will begin the immediate oil extraction in Essequibo, making it evident that he does not intend to go back with his decision on that territory.
But, as the United States and Brazil move in the diplomatic and military fields to avoid a real conflict between Venezuela and Guyana, dozens of people logged on to Wikipedia to ensure that their respective visions of what is happening in Essequibo prevail.
“WMrapids” and “Noonlcarus” are two of the more than 15 anonymous individuals who – without earning a cent from the collaborative encyclopedia – have already left more than 30 comments online regarding how they think the Essequibo article in English might be better. This only in the first ten days of this month.
On December 4, “WMrapids” wrote on the discussions page (which brings together all editors interested in contributing to a given entry) that the expression “Guayana Esequiba”, used as the title of the text, favored Venezuela and that it should be revised.
He immediately suggested using something broader, similar to what other wikieditors had used when writing regarding other regions of the world that are also under territorial dispute. So at 21 h 16 min He finally dared and made the change that seemed necessary. The article was retitled “Guyana–Venezuela territorial dispute.”
“Noonlcarus” was not amused. In just four minutes, he logged into his editor profile and undid the “WMrapids” edit. At 21 h 20 minthe article was re-titled “Guayana Droughts”
At 9:23 p.m., following seeing his editing work wasted, “WMrapids” left a public note stating that “Noonlcarus” was Venezuelan and insinuating that the editor used Wikipedia to promote a political position favorable to Maduro. Immediately, he opened a prominent topic and began to count votes in favor or once morest his proposal for change.
Until the time of writing this column, the discussion had already accumulated at least 110 comments and 21 votes had been added: 11 in favor of the adjustment proposed by “WMrapids” and ten once morest.
Since Wikipedia does not have any body that oversees this type of election nor are there clear rules on how editorial decisions should be made, it is not possible to know when or how the battle over the headline will end. And if that will happen one day.
But many other discussions occur on the same page simultaneously. Another that also draws attention is the one that deals with the map offered. At least four editors are involved in this battle. And the central theme is the visual precision of the Essequibo territory. The publisher “SurinameCentral” complains that the published version is wrong. “There is an area in dispute since colonial times [entre Guyana y Surinam]. By not showing this [en el mapa]this area seems to belong to Guyana,” he wrote. For the editor identified as “JM”, the suggestion of change from “SurinameCentral” was not neutral. It revealed his own interests.
At 1:32 p.m. on December 7, an important notice appeared on the discussions page. A publisher identified only by IP (internet protocol) number had changed the map favoring Suriname. There is no way to know if “SurinameCentral” is behind this IP or if it is another publisher dissatisfied with the Essequibo map. What you can see is that “JM” is attentive. He undid the mysterious modification three hours later and promised to remain on alert.
This seems to be the life of those who seek to reflect the truth in the collaborative encyclopedia.
Cristina Tardáguila is founder of Lupa.
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