Larry Sanger who is one of the co founders of Wikipedia recently suggested that Elon Musk should look into whether the US government has been using funds, for activities like editing and monitoring the encyclopedia or influencing it in any way. He shared his thoughts on social media platform X stating that if such activities are indeed happening they should be stopped immediately and funding should be cut off accordingly; however if there have been no actions taken place then it would be good, for everyone involved if that information is made known.
His worries arise as Musk leads the Department of Government Efficiency, in the US (DOGE) a project focused on cutting down on needless government spending and managing the shortfall effectively. Sanger also urged former President Donald Trumpto issue a decree restricting the utilization of funds for Wikipedia revisions underscoring his support, for him during elections.
Larry Sanger helped start Wikipedia with Jimmy Wales in 2001. Has spoken out about his concerns regarding bias, on the platform recently.He mentioned that he thinks Wikipedia has started leaning towards a viewpoint, over time and no longer follows its policy of neutrality.He believes that Wikipedia now leans heavily on media sources while sidelining perspectives.
His concerns were echoed during an interview, where he mentioned that the content on the site reflects news media stories. Musk himself highlighted Sangers comments by sharing the interview, on media and mentioning humorously ” Don’t just trust my perspective (as I’m a frog) listen to what the Wikipedia co founder had to say.”
Musk has poked fun at Wikipedia before and playfully suggested renaming it “Dickipedia,” offering $1 billion for the name change, for a year as a joke or prank maybe? His remarks and criticisms from Sanger have sparked discussions about the platforms perceived stance and impact, on content decisions.
