Wikipedia:No Nazis



It's a common perception – based on our claim of being the encyclopedia can edit – that Wikipedia welcomes all editors. There is also a misconception that because maintaining a neutral point of view is one of Wikipedia's five fundamental principles, administrators would be acting contrary to this if they blocked a racist editor upon learning of their public self-identification.

Because of this, many neo-Nazis, neo-fascists, neo-Confederates, white supremacists, white nationalists, identitarians, and others with somewhat-less-than-complimentary views on other races and ethnicities – hereafter referred to collectively as Nazis – believe they are welcome to edit Wikipedia, or that they can use Wikipedia as a propaganda tool, so long as they stick to the letter of our policies. This belief is false. Nazis (and other inappropriate discriminatory groups) are not only unwelcome here on Wikipedia; they are usually indefinitely blocked on sight if they express their racist ideas on-wiki.

Historical context of this essay
At one point in the history of the English Wikipedia, there was debate as to if actual neo-Nazis should be blocked on sight. This essay, compiled by multiple people who steadfastly argued that such ilk was fundamentally incompatible with the principles of the English Wikipedia, serves as a policy argument to show them the door.

Nazi beliefs
The core beliefs uniting various types of Nazis are:


 * That white people are more intelligent than non-whites.
 * That white people are more industrious than non-whites.
 * That white people are more physically adept or attractive than non-whites.
 * That white people are morally and ethically superior to non-whites.
 * That the various cultures of white people are better than the cultures of non-white people.
 * That white people have the right to live in a white-only nation.
 * That in majority-white countries a large majority of crimes are committed by non-whites due to genetic factors.
 * That violent, abhorrent or deceptive actions are justified in the pursuit of these beliefs.

In addition, there are many more beliefs that are quite common, though not universal among these groups. These include:


 * That Jews present an existential threat.
 * That there exists a massive or even global conspiracy to enrich Jews at the expense of others.
 * That white people are being systemically killed, out-bred and otherwise forced into a minority status.
 * That Jews are the true perpetrators of Nazism, or hold an ideology that is worse or morally equivalent.
 * That minority groups are seeking to destroy Western culture.
 * That the Holocaust never happened, was greatly exaggerated, or that historians have inflated the death toll.
 * That the Holocaust was morally justified (or, if they deny it, that it should have happened).
 * That the groups persecuted by the Nazis brought it upon themselves, and that the Nazis merely acted in self-defence.
 * That the wrong side won in World War II (or, the wrong side won the Great Patriotic War).
 * That Adolf Hitler was a great leader for the German people, despite (or even because of) Nazi Germany's innumerable atrocities.
 * That non-whites hold back white progress.
 * That non-whites intend to kill whites.
 * That non-whites should be slaves.
 * That white people are more oppressed than other groups.
 * That non-whites shouldn't have basic human rights.
 * That Islam or Muslims are the overwhelming source of terrorism.
 * That groups of people should be wiped off the face of the planet, or systematically "repatriated" to the lands or continents they supposedly originated from.
 * That Jews are responsible for the creation of communism and/or capitalism.
 * That the concept of free speech entails the freedom to post or write race-, gender-, or identity-based slurs, insults, or the promotion and glorification of hate and violence,, and that any consequence brought upon them is an act of censorship.
 * That the Globalists are plotting to destroy western civilization.
 * That there exists a Jewish or "elite" cabal as purported in any of a variety of implausible conspiracy theories, such as QAnon, the New World Order, the white genocide, or the Great Replacement.
 * That the human population has an overall genetic quality which can be improved through selective breeding, often targeting individuals considered undesirable for sterilization or elimination.
 * That disabled individuals or those with mental health issues should be forcibly sterilized or killed, as part of a so-called "euthanasia" program.

These beliefs are – without exception – either demonstrably false, completely unsupported by evidence, or totally unfalsifiable. The very existence of a "white race" is a pseudo-scientific idea that has been rejected by the scientific community since the late 1960s – shortly after the discovery of molecular genetics. See for more on this. Debunking these beliefs is not the purpose of this essay, so they are not addressed here. Suffice it to say that all of these beliefs are considered false or meaningless by experts in the relevant fields. One can verify this with any sufficiently in-depth encyclopedia. There happens to be one close at hand.

Other kinds of racists
As is pointed out in the note in the lede, much of what is written here can be applied to racists of various non-white (or non-Nazi) flavors, as well. All one must do is swap out "white people" and "non-whites" for the races in question, and if the shoe fits, their behavior is no more excusable than that of any Neo-Nazi or Klansman.

Effects of white supremacist beliefs
The problem with editors who hold these beliefs is that they usually interpret nominally clear information that pertains to those beliefs in a drastically different manner than an objective reader would. This leads to the frequent introduction of errors. It also results in Nazi editors taking wildly different stances on the weight of certain experts and sources who digress from the accepted consensus in their profession. For example, the consensus of geneticists, neurologists and research psychologists is that there is no meaningful correlation between race and intelligence, yet a small number of experts continue to publish work which purports to challenge this consensus. While this work is occasionally quite well done (though instances of poor methodology and even deliberate fraud seem more frequent than with mainstream scholarship), it nonetheless represents a fringe view within the field. Racist editors will almost inevitably attempt to add those views to articles about the subject, and will almost always present them with greater or equal weight to the mainstream view. This means that Nazi editors almost inevitably run afoul of our policies on original research, verifiability and the neutral point of view.

Another problem with white supremacist beliefs is that they immediately alienate any non-racist. As soon as a good-faith editor begins to suspect another editor of harboring these beliefs, it becomes all but impossible for them to work together without conflict. Without fail, non-racists find Nazi beliefs to be abhorrent. They fly in the face of the basic decency shared by most non-racists, and even though a Nazi editor may perceive themselves to be moral and objective, to all non-racists this is obviously and horribly untrue. The Nazis of early 20th century Germany set out to build up their nation, to improve the future abilities of all of humanity, and to protect their people from perceived threats. All of those are intentions which, in most contexts, would be highly moral, even laudable. But in the context of racist beliefs, they resulted in possibly the most evil regime to ever exist. It is important to note that Nazism presents a special case, owing to the Holocaust. Even if one is a "nice" Nazi who doesn't believe non-Aryans should be exterminated, or even if one is just "playing around" with Nazi slogans, imagery, or ideas, the moment an editor identifies as a Nazi in any way, they are endorsing the Holocaust in the eyes of the vast majority of other editors.

Owing to their white supremacist beliefs, far-right extremists often organize edit campaigns on various anonymous channels, believing that they could seize Wikipedia with their racist or fascist propaganda. Such users by nature do not come in good faith, and they will inevitably utilize various civil POV pushing techniques under the remote semblance of civility. This includes, but is not limited to, inserting fringe views from questionable sources, and trying to frustrate and drive away other editors in pages and pages of endless sea-lioning debates. This remains an ever-present threat to this project, as it undermines Wikipedia's reliability and long-standing editing environment, that has given rise to our clean, balanced articles. For the health of this project now and into the future, Wikipedia must stand firm against such disruptions.

What to do if you encounter a racist
If you encounter someone you suspect of being a racist or antisemite, check their contributions. Racists on Wikipedia usually try to advance their ideology. If they really are a racist, you should usually see edits promoting a nationalist or racist perspective. Collect relevant diffs and report them to the administrators' incident noticeboard (or arbitration enforcement if applicable). Make sure the diffs do support a charge of racism or antisemitism.

If an editor is displaying racist imagery on their user page, report it to WP:ANI as a user displaying racist imagery, as a "racist editor", because there is no room for interpretation in such a case.