--- title: "Leaked Documents Show Plot to Dox Anonymous Wikipedia Editors Using Hacking and Facial Recognition" description: "Recent efforts by right wing groups to target Wikipedia are beginning to converge as Elon Musk enters the fray." date: "2025-01-25" modified: "2025-01-25" authors: - name: "Joe Wilkins" job_title: "Correspondent" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jwilkins" url: "https://futurism.com/leak-dox-wikipedia" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" - "Cybersecurity" - "Facial recognition" - "Future Society" - "Hacking" tags: - "elon musk" - "the heritage foundation" - "wikipedia" --- # Leaked Documents Show Plot to Dox Anonymous Wikipedia Editors Using Hacking and Facial Recognition ![Recent efforts by right wing groups to target Wikipedia are beginning to converge as Elon Musk enters the fray.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* Never content to rest on their hoarded wealth, institutional power, and oligarchic control over our government, a growing number of moneyed right-wingers and their influential allies are [now targeting]() the acclaimed online encyclopedia Wikipedia. Take a recent trove of documents, [obtained by the ]()*[Forward]()*, that reveal plans by right-wing think tank the Heritage Foundation to use cyber espionage tactics to "identify and target Wikipedia editors abusing their position by analyzing text patterns, usernames, and technical data." The influential organization behind Trump's infamous Project 2025 joins a host of groups like the [Anti-Defamation League](), [Accuracy in Media](), and the [Canary Mission]() in the practice of "[doxxing]()" individuals they label antisemitic. As [*Jewish Currents* reports](), that charge has been increasingly [weaponized]() by right-wing groups in recent months to silence [Jewish groups](), [peace activists](), [lawyers](), and [journalists]() who don't support their political or ideological goals. The *Forward* — an award-winning Jewish publication — is also suspicious the charge is being deployed overbroadly by the Heritage Foundation to deter fair coverage on Wikipedia of topics including Israel's actions in the Middle East. In order to wage this [doxxing campaign]() against Wikipedia's editors, the *Forward* reports, the [extremely well-funded]() think tank is organizing to capture IP addresses, browser fingerprints, device data, geolocations, ISP information, and network details from planted links that log unsecured data. Employees of the Heritage Foundation also shared plans, according to the *Forward*'s reporting, to utilize social engineering through "curated sock puppet accounts to reveal patterns and provoke reactions \[and\] information disclosure," while cataloging sensitive info through facial recognition software and exploiting "breached datasets for reused names, emails, and online identities." Also joining the fray is Elon Musk, who is [reportedly furious]() at the inclusion of his [Nazi salute]() on his Wikipedia entry, [posting]() "defund Wikipedia until balance is restored!" (in reality, the bulk of Wikipedia's funding comes from [small donations from individuals](); the irony of a man under fire for a Nazi salute and a [barrage of Holocaust jokes]() claiming to take a stand against antisemitism is also pretty striking.) Not to be left out, Musk was joined in his broadsides against Wikipedia by fellow tech guys [including]() billionaire venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya and Sequoia Capital general partner Shaun Maguire. Why are these billionaires all so mad? One compelling explanation is that Wikipedia is starting to feel like one of the last free information spaces available online, as Big Tech shoves [AI slop]() down our throats and social media is increasingly overrun with [artificial users](), [neo-Nazis](), and [AI marketing startups](). The volunteers who famously donate their [time and effort]() to edit the world's largest trove of freely accessible information have [gladly resisted]() these trends, which most of the old web has fallen prey to. Luckily, and barring any acts of God — or executive orders — Wikipedia's webmaster and cofounder Jimmy Wales wants to keep it that way. "I think Elon is unhappy that Wikipedia is not for sale," Wales posted nonchalantly on [X-formerly-Twitter](). "I hope his campaign to defund us results in lots of donations from people who care about the truth," he added. "If Elon wanted to help, he'd be encouraging kind and thoughtful intellectual people he agrees with to engage." **More on Wikipedia:** [*Wikipedia Declares War on AI Slop*]() ## Author At Futurism, I focus on the intersection of technology and power — examining the economics, history, and politics behind today’s dystopian headlines. As a writer, I’m interested in topics ranging from AI’s impact on labor to startups nobody asked for. My prior work includes bylines in Jacobin, Verso, and Blue Labyrinths. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Forbes, The Guardian, MIT Technology Review, Time, The Nation, Mother Jones, The Verge, and Wired. I grew up in Michigan, attending Central Michigan University as well as Ball State University, where I earned a master of music. I now live in Brooklyn with my girlfriend and our cat Ziti. On weekends, you can find me hunched over a cold pint arguing geopolitics with the other transplants. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()