NEW DELHI: For more than a decade, sockpuppets, some of them being company employees, created 'puffery' around tycoon Gautam Adani, his family and the apples-to-airport group he helmed by adding non-neutral material and removing warnings from information on Wikipedia, the free internet-based encyclopedia has alleged.

Adani, a first-generation entrepreneur, has lost more than USD 70 billion in net worth and slipped to 25th rank on the world billionaire index from being Asia's richest and the world's third most wealthy businessman, in less than a month. This followed US short-seller Hindenburg Research accusing the group of accounting fraud, stock price manipulation and money laundering, allegations that the conglomerate has repeatedly denied, and threatened legal action.

Wikipedia in a February 20 'Disinformation Report' referred to the "con" alleged by Hindenburg, to ask "Did Adani and his employees also try to "con" Wikipedia readers with non-neutral PR versions of related Wikipedia articles?" It went on to answer the question, "Almost certainly they did." "More than 40 later banned or blocked sockpuppets or undeclared paid editors created or revised nine related articles on the Adani family and family businesses. Many of them edited several of the articles and added non-neutral material or puffery," it said

"Perhaps the most concerning finding is that Hatchens, an article for creation reviewer, was banned for abusing his position and possibly corruptly approving several Adani articles. He edited seven of the nine articles examined," it added.

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