The Anatomy of Censorship and Propaganda: Evidence from Russian Wikipedias

Abstract

Dictators use censorship and propaganda to shape public opinion. As censored content is unobserved and propaganda can be subtle, uncovering the priorities of dictators is difficult. We address this challenge by comparing two online encyclopedias in Russian: Wikipedia, a crowdsourced platform with independent editors, and Ruwiki, a Russian platform created by cloning Wikipedia and selectively editing content to serve the regime’s objectives. Patterns of editing activity suggest that, unlike Wikipedia, Ruwiki is edited by professionals rather than by volunteers. Ruwiki has far fewer contributors who make more edits per person and are active primarily on working days and during working hours. Regarding content, the main differences between the two encyclopedias concern three broad topics: (1) Russia’s foreign policy, (2) Russia’s domestic politics, and (3) culture. Ruwiki portrays the country as a liberator rather than an invader in both current and past conflicts. It censors pages about the opposition and domestic human rights violations while promoting a benign view of the current political elites. On the cultural dimension, Ruwiki censors articles about LGBTQIA+, sex, and pornography and promotes traditional gender roles, emphasizing the role of Russia as a defender of traditional values in contrast to the perceived Western moral decline.