A startling Wikipedia fraud has come to light.
Have you ever wondered how some TikTok stars are verified with thousands of followers even though they aren't influencers outside of TikTok?
Turns out that Wikipedia pages were created to help them get verified on TikTok.
Thread

Please remember that Wikipedia pages are dynamic. As I write this thread, some Wikipedia editors who follow me will quickly go and edit the page and clear cache. I will try and include screenshots as much as possible.
The way it has been done is very interesting too.
Let's start.

Let's understand how TikTok verifies.
How does TikTok determine if an user should be verified or not?
TikTok hasn't officially revealed their verification process but all social media platforms use publicly available sources to determine your identity.
What are those?

They are @Wikipedia and @Google. Though there are other processes involved, the first step is looking up on Google search.
We all know know, Wikipedia entries rank on top of Google.
Not many know that Google pulls Wikipedia data to confirm celebrity identity. They are interlinked

Here's the first example how Google instantly pulls data from Wikipedia to confirm a celebrity identity.
Here's what you get on searching "Amit Shah" on @GoogleIndia.
Google Search immediately pulls data from Wikipedia and presents it in a snapshot box on the right hand side

Note the different elements of that snap-shot box as you search "Amit Shah" on Google.
The picture of the person appears along with his thread-bare data.
Note: At the end of the box, all your social media accounts are also linked to indicate what are your handles on social media.

Wikipedia pages are dynamic but all Wikipedia files stay on their system. So, tomorrow if you upload a picture on Wikipedia with the file-name 'Amit Shah', it will stay on the server until an editor raises a red flag. The picture stays if no wikipedia editor objects or removes it

This is how you can play the system and steal people's identity or create fake identities. All you need to do, is to create a Wikipedia profile and keep that profile online for a month and then edit it out data (including picture). By that time, Google has confirmed your identity

To get this done, you need wikipedia editors who are willing conduits. Once you have Wikipedia editors ready to conspire with you, your job is easy.
This is where the Editor cartels of Wikipedia come in.
Here's a thread on how these cartels work. https://twitter.com/Soumyadipta/status/1235098631738281984?s=20

Exposing these cartels come at a huge cost. I was permanently banned by a senior Wikipedia editor called #Newzlinger for exposing the cartel. This senior editor continues to be in the @Wikipedia system & vandalise pages. Wikipedia hasn't acted against him https://twitter.com/Soumyadipta/status/1240848298837069824?s=20

Coming back to the topic, now you know that with the help of the cartels, you can create fake profiles or steal identities on Wikipedia.
Google will pull the data and show it on Search.
Then you can quietly go and edit the Wikipedia page but Google will continue to show the data.

So, broadly speaking this is the game. Now let's see how this game can play out on TikTok whose verification process is not public. They don't contact users for personal data before verification. So, obviously they use Google to determine the identity.
Here are the case studies.

The same method is used to verify users on Facebook and Instagram as well apart from TikTok. I will present case studies from all the platforms.
First up: Facebook.
Exhibit 1: Faisal Sheikh is a verified user on Facebook.
He writes in his bio that he is a fashion influencer.

But Google disagrees with him. According to Google Search, he is a first-class cricketer who has played for both Goa and Mumbai at the Ranji trophy. Google associates his pictures too to prove his identity and links his Facebook profile.
From where this data comes from? Wikipedia

Since Facebook has verified him, Instagram has verified him too. Instagram and Facebook are two branches of the same company and obviously share data with each other. But the question remains: why does Google proclaim that Faisu is a cricketer when he says that he's into fashion?

Exhibit 2: Hasnain Khan.
Google says that he's a Pakistani cricketer and puts his pictures against his name and links his Instagram handle. Needless to say that the Instagram handle is verified. But Hasnain disagrees with both Google and Wikipedia and doesn't say that in his bio.

Both Hasnain and Faisu are TikTok stars with sizeable followers. You get millions of followers when TikTok actively promotes your account.
Faisu has 29.5 million followers and Hasnain has 16 million.
They are heavily promoted but I don't see the verification badge now.

One more important thing: Please don't confuse verification badges with confirmation of identity. Verification badges might take time and may involve some manual processes. But verification of identity is an automated method.
TikTok verifies identity through Wikipedia via Google.

The stamps of this Wikipedia fraud is less and infrequent on Instagram and Facebook because identity on these platforms are closely monitored.
But TikTok is fun. Some of the verified handles there are different people on Google.
Exhibit 3: Faiz Baloch, a verified TikTok user

I don't want to present more case studies here because my intention is to show how the Editors Cartel on Wikipedia is gaming the system. The common folks might just be taking advantage of this.
But of course you can have fun looking up some of the verified users on Google search.

To summarise, here's how the Wikipedia Editor cartel works.
1. They create Wikipedia pages about a person, either by using somebody else's identity or creating a fictional character.
2. The Wikipedia edits "stick" on the page as a chain of command approves the edits on Wikipedia.

3. Google starts pulling data on Search as it favours Wikipedia as a authentic source.
4. Your face or social media handles get linked.
5. This sends automated signals to these platforms.
5. Social media platforms recognise identity.
6. They start promoting you on their platform

7. They might verify you on their platform too.
8. Then the Wikipedia pages are edited again and some fraudulent edits are purged.
9. The picture files etc. are allowed to remain on their servers.
10. The result: The user becomes an infleuencer with a huge following, in millions.

I will take a short break for lunch. When I come back, I will give you an idea about how this has become a sprawling online business.
Sorry for disabling comments. You may comment with a retweet, I will read them all.
You may also comment on people who have retweeted this thread.

Back.
Many are asking me to name and shame some verified TikTokers. Why go after people who are taking advantage of a flawed system? Isn't it better to expose the system only?
These anonymous Wikipedia editors (like Newslinger) have set up sprawling businesses. Here some examples

Several companies have sprung up which hawk Wikipedia services. They create your Wikipedia page and make sure it sticks. Remember that this is blatantly against Wikipedia rules. But such companies continue to thrive and openly charge money for creating pages of brands and people.

There are many such companies in India and I cannot name them for obvious reasons. But they exist and advertise their Wiki Editing services publicly along with Wikipedia's logo. A simple Google search will throw them up.
Here's one such example from the US
https://wikieditors.net/ 

These Wiki Editors are anonymous and feel secure in their anonymity. They feel secure enough to steal identities, link someone's social media account with somebody else's wiki page.
If you are wondering how it's done, it's just a link that needs to be added to an existing profile

We often look at Wiki Page edits. We ignore links that are being added to a Wiki page unless it is associated with a significant edit. These guys quietly go about linking social media profiles and then remove it later.
This simple manipulation makes one hell of a difference.

Wikipedia is slowly advancing towards becoming a criminal system of data manipulation. As long as Google continues to reward Wikipedia on its search, this system will be gamed to milk money. The Wikipedia bosses know how thousands of dollars are wrested by these cartels everyday.

The senior management of @Wikipedia like founder @jimmy_wales and Chief Editor @krmaher know very well how these anonymous editors like Newslinger are wrecking the system. Yet they are allowed to thrive.
I agree with Wikipedia co-founder @lsanger https://twitter.com/BreitbartNews/status/1265426280381587459?s=20

Thank you for reading such a long thread.
Let us hope that a day will come when @sundarpichai will realise that his company is promoting the wrong platform.
If @Google stops or curtails its support for @Wikimedia, this malignancy can be limited to a large extent.

Thread closed.