{"id":427015,"date":"2022-04-05T18:27:22","date_gmt":"2022-04-05T15:27:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/can-a-web3-wikipedia-evade-russian-censorship-techies-are-divided\/"},"modified":"2022-04-05T18:27:22","modified_gmt":"2022-04-05T15:27:22","slug":"can-a-web3-wikipedia-evade-russian-censorship-techies-are-divided","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/can-a-web3-wikipedia-evade-russian-censorship-techies-are-divided\/","title":{"rendered":"#Can a web3 Wikipedia evade Russian censorship? Techies are divided"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a36e71e9d967\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a36e71e9d967\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/can-a-web3-wikipedia-evade-russian-censorship-techies-are-divided\/#%E2%80%9CCan_a_web3_Wikipedia_evade_Russian_censorship_Techies_are_divided%E2%80%9D\" >&#8220;Can a web3 Wikipedia evade Russian censorship? Techies are divided&#8221;<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-2' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/can-a-web3-wikipedia-evade-russian-censorship-techies-are-divided\/#Building_a_web3_Wikipedia\" >Building a web3 Wikipedia<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/can-a-web3-wikipedia-evade-russian-censorship-techies-are-divided\/#Controlling_the_narrative\" >Controlling the narrative<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9CCan_a_web3_Wikipedia_evade_Russian_censorship_Techies_are_divided%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>&#8220;Can a web3 Wikipedia evade Russian censorship? Techies are divided&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<div>\n                            While a brutal armed conflict rages on Ukrainian soil, an information war is unfolding online.<\/p>\n<p>Russia is seeking to control the narrative by muffling dissent. Last month, the Kremlin\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/news.sky.com\/story\/russia-labels-facebook-and-instagram-extremist-organisations-12572196\">blocked several social media platforms<\/a> and\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/news\/world\/europe\/ukraine-war-latest-russia-law-b2028440.html\">threatened lengthy jail terms<\/a> for spreading \u201cfalse information\u201d about the invasion.<\/p>\n<p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/watch-movies-tv-seriess\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"8\" title=\"Watch Movies &amp; TV Series\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">series<\/a> of domestic alternatives to American <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>s are now being promoted, from RuTube to Rossgram. Critics <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/media\/2022\/mar\/30\/russia-banned-social-media-platforms-rossgram\">describe the latter<\/a>\u00a0as \u201cabsolute shit.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The next service that may require a Putin-approved replacement is Wikipedia.<\/p>\n<p>Regulators last week <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/rkn.gov.ru\/news\/rsoc\/news74240.htm?utm_source=t.co&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=t.co&amp;utm_referrer=t.co\">threatened to fine<\/a> the site up to 4 million rubles (around $47,000) if it doesn\u2019t remove \u201cprohibited information\u201d about the \u201cspecial operation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Russians are now rushing <span class=\"s2\">to secure the site\u2019s content before a potential ban. <\/span>In March, the country had <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/stats.kiwix.org\/index.php?module=CoreHome&amp;action=index&amp;idSite=5&amp;period=day&amp;date=yesterday#?idSite=5&amp;period=month&amp;date=2022-03-16&amp;category=General_Visitors&amp;subcategory=UserCountry_SubmenuLocations\">almost twice as many downloads of Wikipedia<\/a> as any other nation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">These fears have caught the eye of advocates for web3, the nebulous term for a decentralized internet built on blockchains.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Building_a_web3_Wikipedia\"><\/span>Building a web3 Wikipedia<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Proponents of Web3 argue that blockchain can eradicate censorship. Among the supporters are<span>\u00a0<\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/ethswarm.org\/\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=http:\/\/ethswarm.org\/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1649145753943000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0MEL5ciCswHxbCkepcDSkV\"><span>Swarm<\/span><\/a><span>, an Ethereum-based decentralized storage platform, and <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kiwix.org\/en\/\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/www.kiwix.org\/en\/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1649145753943000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0SEaC-GptEFDzne9Y3R7LP\"><span>Kiwix<\/span><\/a><span>, an offline reader for online content.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The pair want to add a mirror version of Wikipedia to a peer-to-peer network that\u2019s always available \u2014 even when internet access is restricted.<\/p>\n<p>Kiwix says Wikipedia\u2019s entire collection of 6 million articles with images can be compressed into just 80Gb, which could then be hosted on Swarm as a read-only snapshot.<\/p>\n<p>Instead of storing the content on centralized servers, the data would be distributed across numerous nodes, which makes it censorship-resistant.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe idea is that we split the big file into chunks, and those chunks are scattered across the network,\u201d Swarm\u2019s Antonio Gonzalo told TNW. \u201cAs a host, you don\u2019t know exactly which files you\u2019re hosting, which can prevent sudden takedowns.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>If the main domain was blocked, anyone<span> running a node and connected to the network could still access and share the information. Users would cover the<\/span> costs via a built-in incentive system enforced through smart contracts.<\/p>\n<p>Some foundations for the project have already been laid. At a March hackathon, participants created <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/github.com\/fairDataSociety\/WAM\/issues\/18\">read-only versions of Wikipedia<\/a> and <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/github.com\/fairDataSociety\/WAM\/issues\/19\">offline search tools for the site<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"post-image post-mediaBleed aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1383890 js-lazy\" alt=\"Some of the ideas, such as Beezim, are very elaborate, including even a search bar. For example, this is the homepage of the offline Wikipedia. Credit: BeeZim\" width=\"1640\" height=\"789\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1640px) 100vw, 1640px\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2022\/04\/image0.png\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2022\/04\/image0.png 1640w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2022\/04\/image0-280x135.png 280w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2022\/04\/image0-270x130.png 270w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2022\/04\/image0-540x260.png 540w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2022\/04\/image0-1536x739.png 1536w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2022\/04\/image0-796x383.png 796w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2022\/04\/image0-1592x766.png 1592w\"\/><figcaption><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"#\" data-url=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Feditorial.thenextweb.com%2Fhardfork%2F2022%2F04%2F05%2Fweb3-developers-building-decentralized-wikipedia-evade-russian-censorship%2F&amp;via=thenextweb&amp;related=thenextweb&amp;text=Check out this picture on: The BeeZIM project won a prize for building a decentralized Wikipedia with an embedded search engine. The tool\u2019s inventor demoed his creation in a YouTube presentation. Credit: BeeZIM\" data-title=\"Share The BeeZIM project won a prize for building a decentralized Wikipedia with an embedded search engine. The tool\u2019s inventor demoed his creation in a YouTube presentation. Credit: BeeZIM on Twitter\" data-width=\"685\" data-height=\"500\" class=\"post-image-share popitup\" title=\"Share The BeeZIM project won a prize for building a decentralized Wikipedia with an embedded search engine. The tool\u2019s inventor demoed his creation in a YouTube presentation. Credit: BeeZIM on Twitter\"><i class=\"icon icon--inline icon--twitter--dark\"\/><\/a>The <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"au kn\" href=\"https:\/\/github.com\/r0qs\/beezim\">BeeZIM project<\/a> won a prize for building a decentralized Wikipedia with an embedded search engine. The tool\u2019s inventor demoed his creation in <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?t=647&amp;v=Zghp75DjnwM&amp;feature=youtu.be\">a YouTube presentation<\/a>. Credit: BeeZIM<\/figcaption><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1383890\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2022\/04\/image0.png\" alt=\"Some of the ideas, such as Beezim, are very elaborate, including even a search bar. For example, this is the homepage of the offline Wikipedia. Credit: BeeZim\" width=\"1640\" height=\"789\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2022\/04\/image0.png 1640w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2022\/04\/image0-280x135.png 280w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2022\/04\/image0-270x130.png 270w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2022\/04\/image0-540x260.png 540w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2022\/04\/image0-1536x739.png 1536w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2022\/04\/image0-796x383.png 796w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2022\/04\/image0-1592x766.png 1592w\"\/><\/noscript><\/figure>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Controlling_the_narrative\"><\/span>Controlling the narrative<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Russia is <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Censorship_of_Wikipedia\">far from the only country<\/a> that\u2019s tried to censor Wikipedia, but the Kremlin\u2019s threats have provided a compelling use case for blockchain boosters.<\/p>\n<p>The backers claim a web3 Wikipedia could provide provenance of facts, protection from authoritarian control, and financial compensation for contributors.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">something financial that supercharges your incentive to participate in the community and doesn\u2019t involve inter<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">media<\/a>ries who sell your private data, get hacked, or take exorbitant fees.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s web3<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 batsoupyum (@batsoupyum) <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/batsoupyum\/status\/1458260775835815942?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 10, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The vision has won support from crypto enthusiasts \u2014 but not everyone shares their excitement.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Molly White is one of the prominent skeptics. The Wikipedia editor, software engineer, and creator of the website <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/web3isgoinggreat.com\/\">Web3 Is Going Just Great<\/a> warns that paying contributors will<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> distort the site\u2019s objectives. <\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe majority of people contributing to Wikipedia are doing so out of a desire to improve an encyclopedic resource,\u201d <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">she <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/2022\/2\/16\/22936487\/molly-white-web3-is-going-just-great\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">told the Verge<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. \u201c<\/span>With web3 you have a whole mix of motivations, including wanting to support a srupecific project, wanting to do good in various broader ways, and just wanting to make a lot of money. Those things can be in conflict a lot of the time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>White points to another for-profit online encyclopedia based on blockchain: <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/everipedia.org\/\">Everipedia<\/a>. Seven years after launching, the site is largely comprised of content copied from Wikipedia, articles contributors wrote about themselves, and crypto spam. Everipedia also has a reputation for <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theoutline.com\/post\/2369\/everipedia-is-the-wikipedia-for-being-wrong\">publishing inaccurate information<\/a> about tragic events.<\/p>\n<p>These worries join more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/general\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"General\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">general<\/a> concerns about web3\u2019s technical limitations, financial backers, and popularity with scammers.<\/p>\n<p>Nonetheless, a decentralized Wikipedia could provide a useful service. It certainly sounds more appealing than a prospective<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Putinipedia.<\/span>\n                        <\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/news\/web3-developers-building-decentralized-wikipedia-evade-russian-censorship\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Can a web3 Wikipedia evade Russian censorship? Techies are divided&#8221; While a brutal armed conflict rages on Ukrainian soil, an information war is unfolding online. Russia is seeking to control the narrative by muffling dissent. Last month, the Kremlin\u00a0blocked several social media platforms and\u00a0threatened lengthy jail terms for spreading \u201cfalse information\u201d about the invasion. A&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":427016,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/img-cdn.tnwcdn.com\/image\/hardfork?filter_last=1&fit=1280,640&url=https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2022\/04\/Untitled-design-1-2.jpg&signature=a01cf87df926f367f7824393848badcb","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-427015","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/427015","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=427015"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/427015\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/427016"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=427015"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=427015"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=427015"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}