Wikipedia, the world’s largest online encyclopedia, has been shaken by what experts are calling the “largest self-promotion scheme in its history.” A dedicated volunteer editor, known by the username Grnrchst, uncovered a decade-long operation involving hundreds of fake accounts and machine-translated articles designed to artificially boost the global profile of controversial composer David Woodard.
For years, Wikipedia’s ranking system showed that some of the most translated articles were expected global topics such as countries — Turkey (332 languages), the United States (327), and Japan (324). Other popular entries included universally known terms like “dog” (275 languages), “cat” (273), and even “Jesus” (274). But, surprisingly, for a time the number-one spot was held not by a world leader, celebrity, or cultural icon, but by Woodard — with entries in 335 languages.
Who Is David Woodard?
David Woodard is a composer infamous for writing a so-called “prequiem” — a pre-requiem mass — for Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh, performed before McVeigh’s execution in 2001. Woodard has also been linked to controversial projects such as attempting to “revive” Nueva Germania, a failed 19th-century German colony in Paraguay associated with Friedrich Nietzsche’s sister Elisabeth. His remarks about an “Aryan vacuum in the middle of the jungle” drew significant criticism and added to his notoriety.
Despite this controversial background, Woodard’s name began appearing across hundreds of Wikipedia pages in multiple languages, raising eyebrows in online communities like Reddit. Many users questioned how such an obscure and divisive figure could have more global reach than terms like “sex” or “Hitler.”
In August 2025, the Wikipedia Signpost, an independent community-run publication, published the results of Grnrchst’s in-depth investigation. The findings were staggering.
According to the report, as many as 200 accounts and numerous proxy IP addresses were used to push Woodard’s name into the platform. Beginning around 2015, these accounts inserted references to Woodard into at least 93 unrelated English Wikipedia articles, citing mostly self-published sources. Examples included bizarre placements in pages about pliers, brown pelicans, and German highways.
From 2017 to 2019, the operation expanded aggressively. Fake or sock-puppet accounts created new Wikipedia entries about David Woodard in at least 92 languages, often using low-effort or machine-translated stubs. On average, a new article appeared every six days, in languages ranging from Nahuatl and Kirundi to even constructed or niche dialects.
Grnrchst concluded that such scale was “either evidence of the most advanced polyglot in human history — or, far more likely, a coordinated campaign of spamming machine translations.”
The Fallout for Wikipedia
This revelation has reignited debates around Wikipedia’s credibility, AI misuse in content creation, online manipulation, and digital self-promotion scams. It also underscores the vulnerability of open platforms to exploitation by individuals seeking artificial fame, reputation laundering, or digital immortality.
The scandal highlights the importance of volunteer editors and fact-checkers who maintain the integrity of one of the internet’s most trusted knowledge sources. Without their vigilance, misinformation, vanity campaigns, and fabricated digital legacies could easily take root in what millions of people rely on for accurate information.
