Canadian group hosts Wikipedia “Edit-a-Thon” to honor Palestinian artists
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A Toronto-based pro-Palestinian arts collective is preparing a Wikipedia editing session next week aimed at documenting the lives and work of Palestinian artists killed in the ongoing conflict and highlighting what organizers call Canadian support for ‘Israeli’ policies.
Artists Against Artwashing, which operates under the Stop Artwashing banner, has scheduled the “Free Palestine Wiki Edit-a-Thon” for the evening of October 22 in downtown Toronto.
The event is open to registered participants and will run from 6 to 8:30 PM.
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Organizers describe the gathering as a practical response to what they see as systematic erasure of Palestinian stories online.
“Against attempts to erase Palestinian martyrs and conceal the Imperialist perpetrators of Israel’s genocide, this Wiki Edit-a-Thon remedies the narrative, towards Palestinian liberation,” the group stated in its announcement.
The evening will open with short films by Palestinian artists before moving into a Wikipedia 101 training session and hands-on editing.
Artists Against Artwashing presents itself as a network of “arts workers across so-called-Canada demanding cultural institutions divest from settler colonialism and genocide.”
Its broader campaign has focused on pressuring Canadian arts organizations to cut ties with funders linked to ‘Israel’, including the Azrieli Foundation.
The group previously held a similar Wikipedia workshop in April targeting related entries.
Supporters of the initiative argue that mainstream platforms have long underrepresented Palestinian cultural figures and the human cost of the war in Gaza.
By creating and expanding Wikipedia pages on “martyred” artists, participants aim to preserve their contributions and ensure their names remain visible in public knowledge repositories.
The session is framed as both educational and activist, equipping attendees with the tools to contribute directly to one of the world’s most consulted information sources.
The event has drawn criticism from pro-‘Israel’ organizations and some media outlets, which contend that the stated goal of “exposing the Canadian, Zionist backers of genocide” risks turning Wikipedia into a vehicle for advocacy rather than neutral documentation, according to them.
Organizers maintain that their work simply corrects imbalances and gives voice to perspectives they believe have been marginalized.
The films selected for the program include work by artists such as Ibrahim Abusitta and Maysam Khreibeh, the latter previously identified as an organizer with the Palestinian Youth Movement’s Toronto chapter.
These screenings are intended to ground the editing session in lived cultural production and recent loss.
