Prominent PR firm accused of commissioning favourable changes to Wikipedia pages
Portland Communications, founded by Keir Starmer’s communications chief, linked to so-called ‘black hat’ edits
A high-profile PR company founded by Keir Starmer’s communications chief has been accused of commissioning changes to Wikipedia pages to make them more favourable towards clients.
Portland Communications, founded by Tim Allan, has been linked to the so-called “black hat” edits, sometimes called “Wikilaundering”. Several changes were made to Wikipedia pages by a network of editors, allegedly controlled by a contractor working on Portland’s behalf.
Related Knowledge Center: Social media
Social media platforms are the source of news for millions of people — and they have a fraught and ever-shifting relationship with the enterprises that provide that news.
The TikTok ban | The Meta-FTC trial
Related Knowledge Center: Information integrity
In an increasingly fractured media landscape, truth has been a casualty in the public discussion. Coverage has been warped by the business needs of struggling news organizations, and a significant segment of the public relies on bad-faith outlets that are little more than propagandists. While fact-checking has become routine, some organizations are exploring other ways to combat the trends. And misinformation spewed by AI-driven chatbots has become more of a feature than simply a bug.
Fact-checking and its detractors