Climate change and the environment are topics that unite Wikimedians globally. In Latin America, where knowledge is deeply rooted in nature and territory, affiliates have joined forces to develop campaigns, projects, events, and strategic partnerships that contribute to reducing information gaps on Wikimedia platforms, primarily on Wikipedia, Wikidata, and Wikimedia Commons.
This work took a new leap when Wikimedia Brazil and the Working Group on Climate Justice and Wikimedia Projects (an effort maintained by affiliates from Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Peru, and Uruguay) collaborated on a proposal to present to the Global Initiative for Information Integrity on Climate Change Fund. This initiative, established in 2024 by the Government of Brazil, the UN Secretariat, and UNESCO, aims to promote information integrity on climate change topics.
Out of 447 submissions from nearly 100 countries, the project “Advancing Information Integrity on Extreme Weather and Climate-related events in Wikipedia and Wikidata” was one of the top ten proposals selected.
This is a powerful regional collaboration, with a global design and impact, leveraging the worldwide reach of Wikipedia and Wikidata. Additionally, a volunteer advisory group, comprising Wikimedia members from Europe, Africa, and Southeast Asia, will provide advice and potentially replicate activities.
The selection of this project developed by Wikimedians from South America is a major triumph, affirming the Movement’s ability to address critical global topics, such as information integrity on climate change. The project includes research, data modeling, and a public outreach workshop in each of the seven participating countries to improve Wikimedia content based on the findings. These workshops will also serve as a launchpad for the (soon-to-be-renamed) Wiki for Human Rights 2026 campaign, focused on climate change and environmental topics.
As part of the public activities that will be held at COP 30 in Brazil on the topic of information integrity on climate change, UNESCO has invited a project representative to be present at the event in November 2025. This is an opportunity to effectively draw public attention to climate information integrity and highlight the crucial role of digital public goods like Wikipedia.
The Wikimedia projects play a fundamental role in safeguarding information integrity due to their core policies: the Neutral Point of View (NPOV), verifiability, and no original research. Furthermore, the vast, multilingual scope of the projects means that the content hosted on them is often replicated by other services and used to train various Large Language Models (LLMs) and AI systems. This gives the Wikimedia Movement immense leverage in shaping the foundational knowledge accessible to Internet users worldwide.
Trust in scientific knowledge and access to reliable information are the foundations of effective climate action. Fostering information integrity requires multi-sector cooperation, and the Wikimedia movement has an active and relevant role to play in the information integrity ecosystem.
More details about the project and progress in its implementation can be found on its Meta page.
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