Gibraltarpedia

Gibraltarpedia is a project by the Government of Gibraltar, a British Overseas Territory in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, to improve coverage of Gibraltar-related topics on Wikipedia.

A government official told the Gibraltar Chronicle: The people from Wikipedia UK have guaranteed to us that this has an element of self-regulation and we want to encourage many local volunteers to keep an eye on what is going on, and if things go on that is [sic] nasty, then it is very easy for them to go back to the earlier page in seconds.

[11]In June 2012, the Government of Gibraltar signed a letter of intent with Roger Bamkin, a co-creator of Monmouthpedia and a director of Wikimedia UK, and with John Cummings, a Wikipedia editor.

[6] He told the Western Mail in July 2012 that he selected Gibraltar as his next project "after being flooded with invitations from places around the world hoping to be the second Wikipedia town.

[13][14][15] Tyson Lee Holmes, coordinator of Gibraltarpedia, told the Gibraltar Broadcasting Corporation that the project hoped "to get people interested in editing pages on, among other things, historical periods, prominent buildings, biographies.

"[16] In September 2012, the BBC reported that volunteers had been producing "up to 20 articles a day in various languages," and that Roger Bamkin was in Gibraltar for the week "seeking more people to contribute photos, maps and information on the territory's history.

page was suddenly dominated by trivia about Gap or Mars Bars, many readers would quickly smell a rat, but there are numerous PR professionals who represent subtler brands and causes.

"[22] British web site The Register reported on concerns that the "scandal involving a close-knit group of friends and business associates who run Wikimedia UK may imperil its charitable status.

While expressing a desire to provide formal support to Gibraltarpedia if a memorandum of understanding could be reached with the Government of Gibraltar "setting out shared aims and objectives," the release stated that the charity had not funded the project and noted that "[its] only material involvement [had] been to supply some 'how to edit Wikipedia' leaflets, which is the kind of thing [it] would do for any institution.

"[1] On 2 October 2012, The Daily Telegraph reported that, as a result of the Gibraltarpedia controversy, Wikimedia UK had been "barred from processing some donations" and faced "an investigation over alleged conflicts of interest.

"[28][29] The Wikimedia Foundation's vice chair stated that the investigation was sparked by "several (highly) irregular activities", but subsequently clarified that he meant "unusual enough to warrant further review" rather than improper.

Among the findings was that WMUK was unable to appropriately handle such conflicts of interest, and that Bamkin's acceptance of consultancy fees provided an opportunity for the charity's reputation to be damaged.

Video used to introduce Gibraltarpedia at Wikimania 2012 in Washington, D.C.
Gibraltar Minister of Tourism Neil Costa at Government of Gibraltar press conference on Gibraltarpedia, 18 July 2012
Gibraltarpedia coordinator Tyson Lee Holmes with a trial plaque containing a QR code
Roger Bamkin at WikiConference UK 2012