The third arms industry wikithon was joined by participants of wikithon #2, wikithon #1 and many other first time participants. The wikithon began with our facilitator emphasizing that wikipedia pages must be edited cautiously, original investigation (that may include researching companies house or court documents), interpretation and analysis must not be a part of a wikipedia page edit. They also highlighted that one the current priorities of the arms industry wikithon series is to update the DSEI page to reflect prior ownership of the exhibition by Reed Elsevier before Clarion Events. After an introduction to wikipedia editing through its visual editor and through wiki markup, all participants had their eyes glued to their screens. The collective keyboard clacking began.
One of the participants chose to edit the wikipedia page of the Thales Group, a defence company. Their primary interest was to add more information or edit existing information on Thales Group’s involvement in implementing biometric authentication at border control areas. In April 2026, the group reported a 9.7% organic increase in their quarterly sales compared to last year. Previously (in 2024), the Serious Fraud Office (SFO, United Kingdom) and the Parquet National Financier (PNF, France) had launched an investigation against the Thales Group for suspected bribery and corruption. The Thales Group appears alongside IDEMIA on the IDEMIA wikipedia page with a citation to the Business and Human Rights Centre. They published that the Thales Group has not responded to allegations of monitoring the movement of migrants crossing the Mediterranean in Tunisia and Morocco.
Another participant was looking at the wikipedia page on deterrence theory. They were trying to add articles/references to the cyber deterrence section. A participant sitting next to them was looking into a Turkish weapons manufacturer Roketsan.
The data breach section of a french missile company, MBDA was edited by another fellow participant by linking a BBC article, they also mentioned coming across articles by Digit News and Bleeping Computer.
The DSEI page was edited to include a reference to an answer published in response to a Mayor’s Question Time posed by City Hall Greens. The response revealed that the Greater London Authority spent over £3 million on policing the event. Another participant was going through the war profiteering page on wikipedia. Other folks looked into DSEI, specifically a letter to The Lancet (medical journal) by scientists calling for Reed Elsevier to end its international promotion of arms trade. Reed Elsevier has organised multiple DSEI exhibitions, and the Elsevier page was also one of the wikipedia pages a participant was editing. They also edited the UK Defence and Security Exports wikipedia page to reflect their involvement in organising arms fairs in Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi and Dubai (and their promotion of British arms to an international market). The British Medical Association on DSEI was another topic being looked into.
Other participants were looking into Palantir and Peter Thiel. Specifically, looking at tech billionaire bunkers. They spoke about finding out that Peter Thiel’s New Zealand citizenship was granted. They were also researching the tech billionaire’s alleged plans to build a bunker in the country.
AI data centres, their blueprints and plans were also looked at by participants of the wikithon. Specifically looking at a hyderabad based new energy company and finding out the energy sourcing companies for data centres in New Zealand.
Another participant was editing the AeroVironment Switchblade wikipedia page, looking to edit more pages on switchblade systems.
A participant, a graphic designer, was looking into Wikipedia’s image policy (being able to use graphs, user made images).
A participant of the hackathon was reading written questions submitted by Jeremy Corbyn to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. The question enquired whether any licences have been granted to UAV Engines Ltd since 1 January 2010 for the export of UAV engines or components to (a) the Israeli Defence Force or (b) other elements of Israel’s security forces. Matthew Hannock (then MP for West Suffolk) responds as follows -
“No licences have been granted for unmanned aerial vehicle engines for use by the Israeli Defence Force or other elements of Israel’s security forces since 2010”
Other folks note that multiple Turkish military aircrafts need their operational history to be updated, they are also researching YPG, PKK and PYD as they update Wikipedia pages of the aircrafts.
From the list of pages that need to be updated, a participant is interested in the Tony Blair Institute (TBI). They are particularly interested in understanding TBI’s defence programmes and its relationship with defence companies. Folks were also looking into Imperial College London and its relationship with defense companies and its association with TBI. They were also interested in updating Tony Blair’s wikipedia page.
BASE systems was being researched by a participant who also mentioned that they are reading and editing the wikipedia page on Saudi Arabia’s intervention in Yemen.
The NSO group, sponsor of the ISS World Trade Expo (happens in Europe, Asia and America). They were particularly looking into spyware and hacks that have occurred in the past (and the products of NSO group). Candiruse, an Israel spyware company, was also being researched by a participant. Particularly, the company’s ability to evade sanctions after another investment company bought out Candiruse.
Multiple participants were looking at Stanford University’s wikipedia page. Specifically the university’s relationship with the defence industry. They (Stanford) currently run a ‘Hacking for Defense’ class, in which students partner with military companies on national security problems sponsored by the Department of Defense. They also looked into the Gordian Knot Centre and funding sources of the centre, ($1.28 million from the U.S. Office of Naval Research to “bridge silos across the Department of Defense (DoD), industry and academia”).
Another participant was adding references to the OpenAI wikipedia page. They added references and edited the page to reflect OpenAI’s relationship with Anduril to develop and deploy advanced artificial intelligence solutions for national security.