Wikipedia is fighting a new kind of enemy: a flood of low-quality, AI-generated articles filled with false information and fake sources. The online encyclopedia’s volunteer editors are now on the front lines of a battle against this “AI slop,” and they’re developing new tools and rules to fight back.
The problem has gotten so bad that Wikipedia has implemented a new “speedy deletion” rule. This allows administrators to quickly remove articles that AI writes without going through the usual seven-day discussion period. The tell-tale signs of an AI-written article include strange, conversational phrases like “Here is your Wikipedia article on…,” nonsensical citations, and links to non-existent sources.
One editor said they are being “flooded non-stop with horrendous drafts” and that cleaning up the “lies and fake references” left behind by AI takes an incredible amount of time.
To help with the fight, editors have even created a “WikiProject AI Cleanup” page. It lists common phrases and formatting quirks to look for, such as the overuse of certain words like “moreover” or promotional language like “breathtaking.”
This fight highlights a growing tension. The Wikimedia Foundation, which hosts the site, sees AI as a “double-edged sword.” It can be used to create junk, but it can also be a tool to help volunteers. For now, though, the community’s “immune system,” as one product director called it, is working overtime to keep the world’s largest encyclopedia accurate and reliable.
