An investigation claims that Abdul El-Sayed's Wikipedia page got edited during the campaign, deleting controversial issues.
Michigan Senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed's Wikipedia page was allegedly edited over several months to soften or remove references to controversies surrounding him ahead of the November 3 election, according to an investigation by researchers who tracked changes to the online encyclopedia. The edits were reportedly made by an anonymous Wikipedia contributor using the username "CopyleftEverything", who changed descriptions of El-Sayed's medical credentials, his association with left-wing influencer Hasan Piker and controversies involving Michigan's Jewish community.
Investigative journalist Ashley Rindsberg, founder of the online campaign-influence tracker NPOV, and New York-based researcher Yehuda Teitelbaum separately examined the page's revision history and highlighted the changes on X. Rindsberg said the editor had been carrying out what appeared to be a systematic clean-up of El-Sayed's Wikipedia profile in the run-up to the election.
One of the changes was made on June 12, when the wording describing El-Sayed's medical qualifications was altered. The original statement that he "has never been granted a medical license" was replaced with the softer phrase "did not pursue a medical license". El-Sayed holds a Doctor of Medicine degree from Columbia University but did not complete residency training or obtain a medical licence. During the election campaign, he faced criticism for referring to himself as a doctor.
Another change involved Hasan Piker, the left-wing Twitch streamer and political commentator who appeared alongside El-Sayed at two Democratic primary-night events in April. On October 10, the description of Piker was changed from "a controversial left-wing Twitch streamer and political commentator" to "left-wing political commentator", removing the word "controversial". Piker has previously faced criticism for saying that America "deserved" the September 11, 2001, terror attacks.
The researchers also flagged changes involving El-Sayed's relationship with Michigan's Jewish community. Two paragraphs, removed on October 12 and October 31, had referred to his appointment of a Jewish community liaison officer amid tensions over his criticism of the Israeli government, opposition to US military aid to Israel and remarks following the March 12 attack on Temple Israel synagogue in West Bloomfield. El-Sayed had faced criticism for saying "hurt people hurt people" while discussing the synagogue attacker's relatives, who were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Lebanon. He later apologized for the remark.
The Wikipedia edits also drew a response from the platform's co-founder Larry Sanger, who described Rindsberg's findings as "old-fashioned journalism". He said the reporting was "both appropriate and effective as a criticism of Wikipedia and how it works today".
Wikipedia operates on an open-editing model that allows users, including anonymous contributors, to modify articles. Changes can be made directly, although contributors are generally expected to support information with verifiable sources. Teitelbaum questioned the implications of the edits, arguing that Wikipedia's influence extends beyond the platform because Google search results and artificial intelligence systems frequently rely on its content. "This is just not a random event to correct the public record," he told the New York Post. "This was really an organized effort to change the narrative in this country and to portray narratives and certain ideas that are not honest."
El-Sayed defeated Republican Mike Rogers in the November 3 Michigan Senate election. His victory makes him the first Muslim American elected to the US Senate.
