Did Wikipedia remove the word "hostage" from the Yvonne Ridley article?

Yes. "hostage" appeared 1 times in this article's opening at its peak. Today the opening has none; the body has 7. We saved the article's opening paragraph at 6 moments between 2005 and 2025, and the counts come from those saved copies.

When did the Yvonne Ridley article stop using the word "hostage"?

The word appeared 1 times in the opening at its peak in 2005. It is absent from today's opening, the part search engines quote and AI systems train on, checked against the live article on 2026-08-02.

How can I verify what Wikipedia's Yvonne Ridley article used to say?

Each snapshot on this page links the Wikipedia revision it came from, so you can open their own history and compare. We also keep our own copy of the text, which stays readable if the article changes again.

What did Wikipedia remove from the Yvonne Ridley article?

The opening as it read in 2005

Yvonne Ridley (born 1959 ?, Stanley , County Durham ) is a British journalist and politician.¹ Ridley came to prominence in September 2001 when she was captured by the Taliban in Afghanistan whilst working for the Daily Express , and held hostage for 11 days. However, there have been doubts expressed over the veracity of her story. She said she offered to read the Qur'an during her captivity, and later did, partly to find out why the Taliban treated women as they do. She found no justification in the Qur'an for it, and converted to Islam in the summer of 2003 . Later that year she was sacked by her then employer, Al-Jazeera (where she worked on the English language version of their website), after forming a local branch of the National Union of Journalists . After her departure from Qatar, she published an article about her experiences there containing numerous elementary errors of fact. She also reported, after the capture of Saddam Hussein, that he had been captured by Kurds and handed over to the Americans rather than being found by them. That report has never been substantiated. Ridley was on the top of the RESPECT coalition's party list at the 2004 European Elections for the North East England region but was not elected. She stood as the RESPECT candidate at the Leicester South by-election in 2004. She came in fourth, with 12.7% of the vote. However, when she stood again in the May 2005 general election , her share of the vote dropped to 6.4%. Ridley is the author of In the Hands of the Taliban: Her Extraordinary Story (Robson Books, 2003), detailing the 11 days she was held captive by the Taliban; as well as Ticket to Paradise (Dandelion Books, LLC 2003), a novel with semi-autobiographical undertones. v t e v t e²

This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 16574811.

The opening as it stood in 2010 13 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear

Yvonne Ridley (born 1959, Stanley, County Durham , England) is a British journalist, war correspondent and Respect Party politician best known for her capture by the Taliban and subsequent conversion to Islam after release and her outspoken opposition to Zionism and the perceived propaganda of the Western media. Ridley currently works for Press TV , the Iranian -based English language news channel.

Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 369006022.

The opening as it stood in 2015 2 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear

Yvonne Ridley (born 23 April 1958) is a British journalist and former Respect Party activist. She was captured by the Taliban in 2001, and converted to Islam after release, later becoming an outspoken opponent of Zionism and vocal critic of Western media portrayals of the War on Terror .

Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 666751395.

The opening as it stood in 2020 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear

Yvonne Ridley (born 23 April 1958) is a British journalist who was a chair of the National Council of the now-defunct Respect Party . She was captured by the Taliban in 2001. She later converted to Islam . She is a vocal supporter of Palestine , which she took up as a schoolgirl. She is an avid critic of Zionism and of Western media portrayals and foreign policy in the War on Terror , and has undertaken speaking tours throughout the Muslim world as well as America, Europe and Australia. She has been called "something close to a celebrity in the Islamic world" by the journalist Rachel Cooke , and in 2008 was voted the "most recognisable woman in the Islamic world" by Islam Online.

Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 962527359.

The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear

British journalist (born 1958) Yvonne Ridley (born 23 April 1958) is a British journalist, author and politician who holds several committee positions with the Alba Party in Scotland. She was a former chair of the National Council of the now-defunct Respect Party . Ridley made global headlines when she was captured by the Taliban in 2001 after the events of 9/11 and before the start of the U.S.-led war. Two years later she converted to Islam . She is a vocal supporter of Palestine, which she took up as a schoolgirl in her native County Durham. She is an avid critic of Zionism and of Western media portrayals and foreign policy in the War on Terror , and has undertaken speaking tours throughout the Muslim world as well as America, Europe and Australia. She has been called "something close to a celebrity in the Islamic world" by the journalist Rachel Cooke , and in 2008 was voted the "most recognisable woman in the Islamic world" by Islam Online.

Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1175743366.

The opening as it stood in 2025

British journalist (born 1958) Yvonne Ridley (born 23 April 1958) is a British journalist, author and politician who holds several committee positions with the Alba Party in Scotland. She was a former chair of the National Council of the now-defunct Respect Party . Ridley made global headlines when she was captured by the Taliban in 2001 after the events of 9/11 and before the start of the U.S.-led war. Two years later she converted to Islam . She is a vocal supporter of the Palestinian movement, which she took up as a schoolgirl in her native County Durham. She is an avid critic of Zionism and of Western media portrayals and foreign policy in the war on terror , and has undertaken speaking tours throughout the Muslim world as well as America, Europe and Australia. She has been called "something close to a celebrity in the Islamic world" by the journalist Rachel Cooke , and in 2008 Ridley said that she had been voted the "most recognisable woman in the Islamic world" by Islam Online.

Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1297966320. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.

Yvonne Ridley

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