Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2008-03-13/Scandal fallout continues

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While coverage of a relationship between Wikipedia founder Jimbo Wales and Canadian political columnist Rachel Marsden, and financial allegations made by former Foundation employee Danny Wool (see archived story) continued over the last week, an allegation made by currently-banned user Jeff Merkey was also reported by various press sources. Merkey alleged that Wales offered to edit his article favorably in return for a US$5,000 per year donation to the Wikimedia Foundation, an allegation that Wales has strongly denied.

Merkey announced on Sunday on the foundation-l mailing list that he had been in contact with the Associated Press, regarding interactions with Wales. He claimed that Wales had offered "special protection" to the article "Jeff Merkey" in exchange for a $5,000/year donation to the Wikimedia Foundation:

Wales responded, in separate messages to the list:

The story was first covered by the Sydney Morning Herald, in a March 11 article. The article presents Merkey's claims of paid proxy editing, and Wales' denial. It does, however, say that "Wales placed [the article] under his "special protection". Protected entries can only be edited by Wikipedia administrators." This claim is inaccurate; the article was placed under semi-protection, allowing most registered users to edit the page. All revisions of the article were deleted, however, leaving editors to rebuild the article from a blank slate.

The claim was subsequently the subject of stories by other press sources:

• BBC News: Wiki boss 'edited for donation'
• CBC News: Wikipedia founder accused of agreeing to alter page: report
• The Daily Telegraph: Wikipedia's Jimmy Wales in donations row
• The Metro: Wikipedia chief 'edited entries for cash'
• United Press International: Wikipedia struggles with funding

The matter was also covered by tech website Slashdot, dubbing the matter "DonorGate". Wikimedia spokesperson Jay Walsh responded to the Slashdot article with an official statement from the Foundation:

Merkey has often been the source of controversy; his Wolf Mountain Group (now Timpanogas Research Group) was the subject of a lawsuit from Merkey's former employer, Novell, alleging confusion over the name of the group, and misappropriation of trade secrets. Merkey is also controversial within the open source community. In 2004, Merkey offered $50,000 for a copy of the Linux kernel that was not licensed under the GNU General Public License, an offer that many, including software freedom activist Richard Stallman, criticized. In 2005, Merkey filed a lawsuit against Slashdot, open source advocate Bruce Perens, and 200 John Does. The suit, alleging harassment by the defendants, was dropped in August 2005, with a subsequent motion to reopen the case against one defendant, Al Petrofsky.

On Wikipedia, Merkey has also been controversial. Under the account name Gadugi, he was indefinitely blocked in October 2005 by Fvw, with the block summary "Personal attacks, legal threats, harassment, disruption, ..." He was blocked while editing under the account Waya sahoni, as a reincarnation of Gadugi, but was allowed to come back in May 2007 under the account Jeffrey Vernon Merkey. After a July 2007 arbitration case, Merkey and two users who had harassed Merkey, Pfagerburg and Kebron, were all banned for one year.

While initial coverage focused on Wales' involvement with Rachel Marsden, very little of the coverage over the past week has focused on the relationship. It did, however, receive a mention from United Press International, and was mentioned on American newsmagazine Inside Edition. The New York Post also covered the story, with a new claim:

This claim has not been mentioned by any other news sources, however. Meanwhile, Australian breakfast television program Weekend Sunrise gave less-than-flattering coverage to Marsden.

Over the last week, Wool's allegations that Wales had improperly used Foundation funds have received mentions in various sources, including:

• CNET TV: Wikimedia Foundation Executive Director Sue Gardner was interviewed; in the video clip; she calls Wool "a disgruntled former employee" and his claims "a whole bunch of unsubstantiated rumors and gossip".
• DailyTech: Wikipedia Founder Accused of Improper Edits, Lavish Spending
• Sky News: Wikipedia boss slammed for expense claims