Wikipedia:Omer Benjakob

Omer Benjakob is a journalist for Haaretz in Israel. He cover disinformation and technology for the newspaper and has participated in a number of investigations, among them Project Pegasus. His writing on Wikipedia has been published in Wired UK, the Columbia Journalism Review and MIT Press.

Benjakob was born in New York and holds both American and Israeli citizenship. He lives in Jaffa with his wife. He studied philosophy and political science before beginning his MA research on Wikipedia and the history of science at Tel Aviv University. Benjakob is an associate research fellow at the Center for Research and Interdisciplinarity (CRI Paris). Alongside journalistic investigations into Wikipedia, he has also published a number of academic studies about the open encyclopaedia.

In 2023, as part of an undercover investigation, Benjakob helped reveal "Team Jorge", an international cyber mercenary group offering election disruption and disinformation services. Since 2022, Benjakob serves as Haaretz's cyber and disinformation reporter. Prior to that, he served as Haaretz in English's tech editor and reporter, participating in the Project Pegasus investigation as a member of the Forbidden Stories consortium. From 2015, he served as the self-appointed Wikipedia correspondent for Haaretz with some bylines at Wired UK :

Benjakob's articles on Wikipedia

 * Fake Nazi Death Camp: Wikipedia’s Longest Hoax, Exposed
 * How China lost the war for Hong Kong on Wikipedia (WIRED UK)
 * There's a lot Wikipedia can teach us about fighting disinformation (WIRED UK)
 * Is the Sky Blue? How Wikipedia Is Fighting for Facts by Redefining the Truth
 * A Respected Scientist Comes Out Against Evolution – and Loses His Wikipedia Page
 * The Calibri Font Is Threatening to Bring Down Pakistan’s Government
 * Sex, Lies and Wikipedia: Pro-Palestinian Editors Accused of Protecting Linda Sarsour Over Harassment Claims
 * House Netanyahu: Behind This Week's Drama on Wikipedia
 * Syrian-Palestinian Online Activist and Wikipedian Bassel Khartabil Confirmed Dead Years After Arrest in Syria
 * Are Jews White and Is Richard Spencer a White Supremacist? Wikipedia Debates
 * After Russian Elections Ads, Facebook Turns to Wikipedia to Fight 'Fake News'
 * Netanyahu vs. Israeli Security Chiefs: Wikipedia Is New Front in Gaza War Blame Game, Haaretz 17 November 2023