Wikipedia Purges 695,000 Archive.today Links in Blacklist Move
▼ Summary
– Wikipedia is blacklisting Archive.today after the site was used to direct a DDoS attack against a blogger.
– Editors discovered the archive site altered webpage snapshots to insert the targeted blogger’s name, apparently due to a grudge.
– The decision is based on the site’s unreliability and because it should not direct readers to a site that hijacks computers for attacks.
– Over 695,000 links to the archive site exist across Wikipedia, but analysis shows most uses can be replaced with alternatives like the Internet Archive.
– Wikipedia editors are now urged to remove or replace links to Archive.today and its various domain names.
The English-language Wikipedia has taken the significant step of blacklisting the entire Archive.today domain and its numerous aliases. This decisive action follows revelations that the controversial archiving service was involved in malicious activities, fundamentally undermining its reliability as a source. Editors discovered the site was used to launch a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack against a specific blog. Further investigation exposed that Archive.today had deliberately altered archived webpage snapshots to insert the name of the targeted blogger, an act motivated by a personal grudge related to the blogger exposing the archive maintainer’s use of aliases.
A community discussion resulted in a firm consensus to deprecate the service. An official update stated Wikipedia should not direct readers to a site that hijacks users’ computers for attacks and that alters archived content, rendering it untrustworthy for verification. The move triggers a massive cleanup, as over 695,000 links spread across roughly 400,000 pages must be identified and removed. The archive site, which is under FBI investigation to uncover its founder’s identity, is frequently used to bypass news paywalls, adding to its widespread use on the platform.
While some editors argued for maintaining links due to the site’s utility for verifying sources, an analysis concluded most uses could be replaced by alternatives. The community is now tasked with efficiently executing the link removal. Editors are provided with clear guidance, urging them to help purge and replace links to all associated domains, including archive.is, archive.ph, and archive.li. The recommended actions include removing the link if the original source is still live with identical content, replacing it with a link to a different archive like the Internet Archive or Ghostarchive, or changing the citation to a source that does not require an archival link. This sweeping purge highlights Wikipedia’s ongoing commitment to maintaining the integrity and security of its external references.
(Source: Ars Technica)
