February 20, 2026
Wiki vs. Archive: Link Wars
Wikipedia bans Archive.today after site executed DDoS and altered web captures
Wikipedia cuts 695k archive links; donors revolt and users fume over threats and tampered pages
TLDR: Wikipedia moved to ban Archive.today and delete 695,000 links after citing evidence of cyberattacks and altered snapshots. The comments exploded: some vowed to stop donating, others cheered the safety move, and skeptics questioned how replacements will work—because trust, paywalls, and the web’s memory are on the line.
Wikipedia just hit the nuclear button on Archive.today, voting to blacklist the site and rip out roughly 695,000 links across hundreds of thousands of pages. Editors say the archive’s operator helped drive a cyberattack and even tampered with saved pages to target a blogger—claims detailed in a public discussion. Cue the comment section going full soap opera.
On one side, furious readers are yelling “trust is everything.” One donor swore off giving another penny to Wikipedia, while others cheered the ban as overdue, citing the site’s alleged attempt to “hijack” readers’ browsers for an attack (think: silently making your computer flood a blog). The alleged threatening emails from “Nora” at the archive—name-dropping AI porn and a fake dating app—had the crowd shouting “unhinged.”
On the other side, utility diehards mourn the loss of a go-to paywall workaround and demand proof that “most uses can be replaced.” The meme of the day? A sarcastic “Oh? Do tell!” to anyone claiming an easy swap. Editors pointed to alternatives like the nonprofit Internet Archive and laid out guidance for replacing links, but skeptics aren’t convinced.
Amid the chaos, a misfire name-drop—“Jimmy Wiles”—became comic relief, because of course it did. Bottom line: it’s a messy breakup with real stakes for trust, citations, and how the internet remembers things.
Key Points
- •Wikipedia’s English-language edition will blacklist Archive.today and remove existing links due to DDoS activity and content alteration.
- •About 695,000 Archive.today links across roughly 400,000 Wikipedia pages are slated for removal or replacement.
- •Evidence showed Archive.today altered archived pages to insert a blogger’s name amid a dispute over the maintainer’s identities.
- •Guidance instructs editors to remove links to multiple Archive.today domains and use alternatives like Internet Archive, Ghostarchive, or Megalodon.
- •Archive.today is under FBI investigation to uncover its founder’s identity and has been used to bypass news paywalls.