Zhemao hoaxes
The Zhemao hoaxes were over 200 interconnected Wikipedia articles about falsified aspects of medieval Russian history written from 2012 to 2022 by Zhemao (Chinese:
Zhemao started this practice as early as 2010 on Chinese history topics but turned to Russian history, and the political interactions of medieval Slavic states in particular, in 2012. Many of her hoax articles were created to enhance her initial fabrications. Zhemao eluded detection for over a decade by faking a persona as a Russian history scholar, using sockpuppet accounts to feign support, and exploiting the community's good faith that her obscure sources matched articles' content.
Chinese novelist Yifan, having initially been intrigued by a narrative about a Kashin silver mine before finding its sources did not verify its claims, made a blog post in June 2022 explaining the web of hoax articles. Zhemao posted an apology the same month and revealed herself to have neither an advanced degree nor fluency in English or Russian. She attributed her use of sockpuppet accounts to her loneliness and absence of other social relationships. Volunteer editors blocked her accounts and quickly deleted her hoax articles though cleanup continued a month later.
History
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0a/1611_tatars_rebellion.jpg/220px-1611_tatars_rebellion.jpg)
Between 2012 and 2022, an editor using the name "
Zhemao's alternative histories started in 2010, with fictive embellishments about the Qing dynasty official Heshen. Two years later, she turned to Russian history topics with the biography of Alexander I before expanding to general Russian history, mainly around medieval Slavic states. Zhemao later said that her invented articles were meant to complete gaps in her initial fabrications.[1]
Zhemao gained the community's confidence by posing as a scholar. She falsely claimed she held a Ph.D. in world history from Moscow State University, was the daughter of a Chinese diplomat in Russia, and was married to a Russian man. Her profile included a petition by her fictional husband related to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. One veteran editor of the Chinese Wikipedia, John Yip, recognized Zhemao with a Wikipedia barnstar award in early 2022 to honor her work. But Zhemao used at least four sockpuppet accounts to give her edits the appearance of outside support. In at least one instance, she conversed directly with another account she controlled. Another account presented as a Peking University doctoral student with expertise in Russian history and claimed an off-site relationship with Zhemao. Yet another account had editing history back to 2010 but entered Zhemao's control in 2019.[2] These sockpuppet accounts also contributed false histories about the Qing dynasty and Russia under Vladimir Putin.[1]
Detection
[edit]As the saying goes, in order to defend a lie, you must tell more lies.
Zhemao, 2022[2]
Chinese novelist Yifan (Chinese:
Zhemao posted an apology the same month on the English Wikipedia that explained how her actions, initially innocuous, grew out of control. She explained her background as a housewife with neither an advanced degree nor fluency in English or Russian. Unable to read source material, she augmented the output of translation software with her own imagination, which grew into extended works of fiction. Zhemao attributed the sockpuppet accounts to loneliness, as imaginary friends or cosplay as parasocial relationships in the absence of other social relationships and circumstances of her husband's frequent business travel. She apologized to the Russian scholars she befriended and portrayed, and pledged to take up a craft instead of continuing with her project.[2]
Aftermath
[edit]A cadre of Wikipedia volunteers reviewed Zhemao's edits to over 300 articles. Some consulted topical expertise to separate fact from fiction.[2] Most of her articles were deleted the same month as Yifan's Zhihu post.[1] Her multiple accounts were permanently blocked. Volunteers continued to review her edits a month later.[2]
The Zhemao hoaxes were among Wikipedia's largest, having exploited a gap in standard Wikipedia good faith practices in which editors check for proper sources and obvious plagiarism but not whether obscure sources verify the article content. Chinese Wikipedia editors described regret that they deceived, abetted Zhemao, and participated in damaging the encyclopedia's already delicate reputation for reliability.[2] Engadget likened the Zhemao hoaxes to the 2007 Essjay controversy, in which a Wikipedia editor similarly faked his stated expertise.[4]
Multiple publications remarked on the missed opportunity of Zhemao not publishing her writing as standalone fiction, based on editor remarks on the quality and rigor of its prose.[4][3] Some publications dubbed Zhemao a "Chinese Borges".[3][1][5]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g Wu Peiyue (June 28, 2022). "She Spent a Decade Writing Fake Russian History. Wikipedia Just Noticed". Sixth Tone. Archived from the original on July 24, 2022. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Cheung, Rachel (July 13, 2022). "A Bored Chinese Housewife Spent Years Falsifying Russian History on Wikipedia". Vice. Archived from the original on July 17, 2022. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
- ^ a b c d Diamond, Jonny (June 28, 2022). "A 'Chinese Borges' wrote millions of words of fake Russian history on Wikipedia for a decade". Literary Hub. Archived from the original on July 17, 2022. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
- ^ a b Moon, Mariella (July 14, 2022). "A Chinese Wikipedia editor spent years writing fake Russian medieval history". Engadget. Archived from the original on July 17, 2022. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
- ^ Vereskov, Sergey (June 30, 2022). "Китайская домохозяйка 10 лет писала в Википедии фейковые статьи о России: что это было?" [A Chinese housewife has been writing fake articles about Russia on Wikipedia for 10 years: what was it?]. Psychologies (in Russian). Archived from the original on December 20, 2022. Retrieved December 20, 2022.