Friday, October 30, 2015

"The People's Operator"

Proving that I truly do not care enough about Jimmy Wales, I neglected to stick in a paragraph on The People's Operator, the British (and now American) cell phone (mobile) network. Actually its an MVNO (mobile virtual network operator), so they don't even own their own infrastructure; The People's Operator is leasing it from EE Limited (formerly "Everything Everywhere"), which is split in ownership between Orange S.A. (formerly "France Telecom") and Deutsche Telekom. TPO was founded in 2012, and Jimbo was made co-chairman on January 20th of that year. It's highly ironic that Wales, an Ayn Rand devotee (current or former I could never decide) would wind up being in the leadership of a business that gives away twenty percent of their profits to charities. Andrew Rosenfeld, one of the founders of TPO, was in the news in 2011 for selling his mansion in Geneva to the daughter of Islam Karimov, dictator of Uzbekistan (formerly the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic, a component of the USSR.) Rosenfeld was given a position in the Labour party when it was run by Ed Miliband for donating one million pounds to it (even though Rosenfeld was considered a UK tax dodger.) The other ex-Soviet/British Labour Party connection to TPO is who wrote the press release announcing Jimbo's involvement with TPO: the writer is Matt Gould of Portland Communications, a PR firm that dishes out jobs to former Tony Blair government members while also consulting for the government of Kazakhstan, a government that runs the Wikipedia project Wikibilim, which is the Kazakh branch of the Wikimedia Foundation (how that is legal we will never know.) Also, Jimmy welched on paying Rauan Kenzhekhanuly, the man who set up Wikibilim, when he was proclaimed Wikipedian of the Year in 2011. He was due a reward of five thousand dollars.

The Telenor Information

Here is what Andreas Kolbe (Jayen466) wrote on Wikipedia in response to Smallbones:


Let's take an example then, Smallbones: User:Bjoertvedt. His user page states that he is the vice-president of Telenor. He has made 19 edits to the English Wikipedia article Telenor, and has made 228 edits to the Norwegian Wikipedia's Telenor article.
His user page states that he is also an administrator and bureaucrat at the Norwegian Wikipedia, and the vice-chairman of Wikimedia Norway. His contributions were discussed on Jimmy Wales' talk page some weeks ago, a discussion which Jimmy Wales commented in. So we can assume that the Wikimedia board has been well aware of the matter for some time. I see no indication that Mr Bjoertvedt has ceased to be the vice-chairman of Wikimedia Norway.
The Wikimedia Foundation has a well-staffed legal department. I find it hard to imagine that the Foundation would continue to recognise Wikimedia Norway as an affiliated chapter it they thought its vice-chairman's Wikipedia edits "violated applicable law", and thus also Wikimedia's own Terms of Use.
As for the first half of your post, I see no evidence that anyone has demonstrated that Wiki-PR's agents have, "With the intent to deceive, post[ed] content that is false or inaccurate", or that they have attempted "to impersonate another user or individual, misrepresent[ed their] affiliation with any individual or entity, or us[ed] the username of another user with the intent to deceive", or that they have "engag[ed] in fraud". They have simply created a pseudonymous user account without saying who they are and who they work for, and have edited Wikipedia articles. That's what you're doing, too, as I am sure Smallbones is not your real name, and I have no idea who you work for. Andreas JN466 18:54, 11 January 2014 (UTC)

Link to the original here.

Here is Greg Kohs work:


"Let's take a look at how Telenor's vast empire of Wikipedia articles is being tended to. Maybe we'll learn why Telenor is so eager to cooperate in the promotion of Wikipedia to new markets."
"Telenor
"Worked on in the past by Telenor Info[1] (T[2]-C[3]-F[4]-R[5]-B[6]).
"A lavish description of each of the company's board of directors members was added to the article by The sorcerer[7] (T[8]-C[9]-F[10]-R[11]-B[12]), who made only four edits to Wikipedia in 2010, all to Telenor.
"Esben Tuman, formerly a corporate communications manager at Telenor Group, can be presumed to have edited the article, as Esbentuman[13] (T[14]-C[15]-F[16]-R[17]-B[18]). (His only Wikipedia edits were to Telenor.)
"Sune00[19] (T[20]-C[21]-F[22]-R[23]-B[24]) tried to add some content about a Telenor subsidiary called Telenor Comoyo. Sune Engsig currently works for Telenor Comoyo.
"Some light edits in June 2013 by Bjoertvedt. He self-identifies as vice chairman of Wikimedia Norway, and he is serving as Vice President of Telenor Group."
"Uninor is an India-based joint venture of Telenor Group.
"Article created in November 2009 by Bjoertvedt. He self-identifies as vice chairman of Wikimedia Norway, and he is serving as Vice President of Telenor Group.

"Article is carefully tended to by Uninor[1] (T[2]-C[3]-F[4]-R[5]-B[6])."
"Telenor Hungary
"Lightly tended to by Telenor Info[7] (T[8]-C[9]-F[10]-R[11]-B[12])"
"Telenor Pakistan
"Lightly tended to by Telenor Info
"Soulatzaidi[13] (T[14]-C[15]-F[16]-R[17]-B[18]) edited the article once, his only Wikipedia edit. Syed Soulat Abbas Zaidi was a manager at Telenor Pakistan.
"Danish crazy[19] (T[20]-C[21]-F[22]-R[23]-B[24]) added several paragraphs of content, his only edits ever to Wikipedia."
"Sigve Brekke (the man in charge of Telenor's Asian operations)
"Article is carefully tended to by Uninor, not to be confused with Uninor (article), an Indian mobile carrier joint venture of Telenor Group."
"Jon Fredrik Baksaas, CEO of Telenor
"Surprisingly, not manipulated by any editors with an obvious conflict of interest."
"Svein Aaser, chairman of the board of Telenor
"In March 2013, the vice chairman of Wikimedia Norway and Vice President of Telenor Group added a photo of the subject."
"Canal Digital, a joint venture of Telenor.
"Surprisingly, not manipulated by any editors with an obvious conflict of interest."
"Telenor Maritim Radio
"Surprisingly, not manipulated by any editors with an obvious conflict of interest."
"Norkring, a fully owned subsidiary of Telenor.
"Lots of PR puff inserted by Norkring[1] (T[2]-C[3]-F[4]-R[5]-B[6]), but it was removed a few days later.
"Feverishly edited for one day by HjalmarM[7] (T[8]-C[9]-F[10]-R[11]-B[12]), whose only activity on Wikipedia focused solely on Norkring.
"In April 2013, an IP 88.89.28.34 geo-locating to Telenor was editing the article."
"Telenor Cinclus
"Surprisingly, not manipulated by any editors with an obvious conflict of interest."
"Grameenphone, which is majority owned by Telenor
"Article created by a Grameenphone IP 202.56.4.81
"One editor, SamVeer[13] (T[14]-C[15]-F[16]-R[17]-B[18]), added lengthy content (probably a copyright violation) about "Corporate Social Responsibility(CSR) of Grameenphone". It was their sole edit ever to Wikipedia."
"Globul, Bulgarian company purchased by Telenor in August 2013, so only the editing since then is really fair game.
"Well, that didn't take long. In September 2013, a Bulgarian IP 78.90.220.216 with no previous history on Wikipedia extensively updated Globul's financials. "
"Telenor Denmark
"One IP 83.88.246.190 made its only edit ever to Wikipedia, about Telenor Denmark, from a Telenor Denmark ISP."
"Telenor Culture Award
"Article created by what appears to be a neutral, Jogibaba[19] (T[20]-C[21]-F[22]-R[23]-B[24]); however, in June 2012, the VP of Telenor and vice chairman of Wikimedia Norway came along to add an external link to Telenor's "Brand Centre"."
"Telenor Objects
"Full-fledged article created by the VP of Telenor and vice chairman of Wikimedia Norway."
"Telenor Montenegro
"Article created by an IP 4.172.201.104 who only edited Wikipedia for one day, and almost exclusively about Telenor Montenegro.
"Extensive follow-up editing by a Montenegro IP 195.66.163.252 that was almost exclusively dedicated to Telenor Montenegro.
"Another single-purpose editor Ipesic83[1] (T[2]-C[3]-F[4]-R[5]-B[6]) devoted all his editing to Telenor topics. He is located in Montenegro."
"Telenor Serbia
"Lightly tended to by Telenor Info"
"Kristin Skogen Lund, a director at Telenor
"Photo added by vice chairman of Wikimedia Norway and Vice President of Telenor Group."
"Here are some of Telenor's visual "donations"[7] to Wikimedia Commons."
"Note that Arsenikk[8] (T[9]-C[10]-F[11]-R[12]-B[13]) seems to contribute heavily to many Telenor articles; but it appears that he is just a Norwegian student addicted to Wikipedia, not someone with a conflict of interest."
[Some of the Telenor editors were later blocked by OrangeMike, some were left untouched. - notation by Source.]


[1]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Ipesic83
[2]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Ipesic83
[3]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/Ipesic83
[4]http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Contributions/Ipesic83&dir=prev&limit=10
[5]https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Log&type=rights&user=&page=User:Ipesic83
[6]http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Log&type=block&page=user:Ipesic83
[7]http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Photos_donated_by_Telenor
[8]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Arsenikk
[9]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Arsenikk
[10]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/Arsenikk
[11]http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Contributions/Arsenikk&dir=prev&limit=10
[12]https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Log&type=rights&user=&page=User:Arsenikk
[13]http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Log&type=block&page=user:Arsenikk
 

[1]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Norkring
[2]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Norkring
[3]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/Norkring
[4]http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Contributions/Norkring&dir=prev&limit=10
[5]https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Log&type=rights&user=&page=User:Norkring
[6]http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Log&type=block&page=user:Norkring
[7]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:HjalmarM
[8]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:HjalmarM
[9]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/HjalmarM
[10]http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Contributions/HjalmarM&dir=prev&limit=10
[11]https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Log&type=rights&user=&page=User:HjalmarM
[12]http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Log&type=block&page=user:HjalmarM
[13]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:SamVeer
[14]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:SamVeer
[15]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/SamVeer
[16]http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Contributions/SamVeer&dir=prev&limit=10
[17]https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Log&type=rights&user=&page=User:SamVeer
[18]http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Log&type=block&page=user:SamVeer
[19]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Jogibaba
[20]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Jogibaba
[21]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/Jogibaba
[22]http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Contributions/Jogibaba&dir=prev&limit=10
[23]https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Log&type=rights&user=&page=User:Jogibaba
[24]http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Log&type=block&page=user:Jogibaba
 



[1]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Uninor
[2]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Uninor
[3]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/Uninor
[4]http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Contributions/Uninor&dir=prev&limit=10
[5]https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Log&type=rights&user=&page=User:Uninor
[6]http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Log&type=block&page=user:Uninor
[7]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Telenor_Info
[8]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Telenor_Info
[9]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/Telenor_Info
[10]http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Contributions/Telenor_Info&dir=prev&limit=10
[11]https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Log&type=rights&user=&page=User:Telenor_Info
[12]http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Log&type=block&page=user:Telenor_Info
[13]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Soulatzaidi
[14]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Soulatzaidi
[15]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/Soulatzaidi
[16]http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Contributions/Soulatzaidi&dir=prev&limit=10
[17]https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Log&type=rights&user=&page=User:Soulatzaidi
[18]http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Log&type=block&page=user:Soulatzaidi
[19]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Danish_crazy
[20]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Danish_crazy
[21]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/Danish_crazy
[22]http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Contributions/Danish_crazy&dir=prev&limit=10
[23]https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Log&type=rights&user=&page=User:Danish_crazy
[24]http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Log&type=block&page=user:Danish_crazy
 




[1]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Telenor_Info
[2]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Telenor_Info
[3]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/Telenor_Info
[4]http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Contributions/Telenor_Info&dir=prev&limit=10
[5]https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Log&type=rights&user=&page=User:Telenor_Info
[6]http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Log&type=block&page=user:Telenor_Info
[7]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:The_sorcerer
[8]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:The_sorcerer
[9]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/The_sorcerer
[10]http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Contributions/The_sorcerer&dir=prev&limit=10
[11]https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Log&type=rights&user=&page=User:The_sorcerer
[12]http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Log&type=block&page=user:The_sorcerer
[13]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Esbentuman
[14]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Esbentuman
[15]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/Esbentuman
[16]http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Contributions/Esbentuman&dir=prev&limit=10
[17]https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Log&type=rights&user=&page=User:Esbentuman
[18]http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Log&type=block&page=user:Esbentuman
[19]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Sune00
[20]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Sune00
[21]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/Sune00
[22]http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Contributions/Sune00&dir=prev&limit=10
[23]https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Log&type=rights&user=&page=User:Sune00
[24]http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Log&type=block&page=user:Sune00