Skip to content

Wikimedia Europe

Visual Portfolio, Posts & Image Gallery for WordPress

Stefan Krause, Germany, FAL, via Wikimedia Commons

Michael S Adler, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

JohnDarrochNZ, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Charles J. Sharp, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Benh LIEU SONG (Flickr), CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Markus Trienke, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center from Greenbelt, MD, USA, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Sergey Pesterev / Wikimedia Commons

640px-Wikimedia_Europe_logo_-_vertical

Valentina Calcagno

Community-Led Advocacy for a Fair Digital Space

First day of WMEU General Assembly in Prague 2024, Richard Sekerak (WMCZ), CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

As the EU rolls out the Digital Services Act (DSA), a pivotal moment unfolds for the future of online governance. While the regulation offers promising frameworks to enhance accountability and curb online harms, its implementation also reveals pressing risks. Over-moderation by platforms can undermine freedom of expression, legal uncertainties threaten community-led initiatives, and fragmented enforcement across Member States risks weakening the resilience of the EU’s information ecosystem. At the same time, the dominance and secrecy of proprietary platforms further complicate oversight and fairness.

Yet, there is a powerful counterbalance: community-led models like Wikipedia. Such alternative business models demonstrate a transparent, participatory approach to content moderation that prioritises reliability, verifiability, and pluralism. 

Read More »Community-Led Advocacy for a Fair Digital Space

Building an Enabling Environment for DEMocratic Debate. THE DEM-Debate project

Black and white adaptations of the Wikipedia 20 symbols by Karabo Poppy Moletsane and Jasmina El Bouamraoui, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Black and white adaptations of the Wikipedia 20 symbols by Karabo Poppy Moletsane and Jasmina El Bouamraoui, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Wikipedia has a significant impact on our everyday lives. The largest free knowledge platform on the internet, we regularly rely on its accessible, up-to-date information to form our opinions, even on critical events such as elections.
While most of the research has focused on how large, commercial platforms address disinformation, less attention has been given to platforms non-profit, community-led platforms such as Wikipedia.
The DEM-Debate project aims to fill this gap by exploring whether, and how, the fact-checking and moderation practices used by Wikipedia during the 2024 European Parliament election have enhanced the reliability of the information ecosystem. It also seeks to determine if these practices can be transferred to other online contexts, fostering an environment that nurtures a more democratic debate.

Read More »Building an Enabling Environment for DEMocratic Debate. THE DEM-Debate project

Wikimedia Europe Partners for Research into Wikipedia’s Practices on Information on Elections

Panel debate in the European Parliament
DEM-Debate Kick-Off Panel. Author: Camille Françoise: License: CC-BY 4.0 ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )

1.1 million— the number of times the 2024 European Parliament election article on English Wikipedia has been viewed from May to June 2024. With another 37 language versions and additional millions of views globally, this page exemplifies Wikipedia’s role in informing the public about major political events. Yet, Wikipedia’s impact extends far beyond that. As a widely used repository of knowledge, its content is frequently cited by other media outlets, amplifying its reach and embedding its information within broader public discourse. This means that any inaccuracies or disinformation on Wikipedia could have significant consequences on the public discourse, especially when it comes to sensitive issues like elections.

Read More »Wikimedia Europe Partners for Research into Wikipedia’s Practices on Information on Elections