How do you solve a problem like Wikipedia?



Wikipedia has recently come under the microscope. I take some credit for this, as a co-founder of Wikipedia and a longtime vocal critic of the knowledge platform.

In September, I nailed (virtually) “Nine Theses About Wikipedia” to the digital door of Wikipedia and started a round of interviews about it, beginning with Tucker Carlson. This prompted Elon Musk to announce Grokipedia’s impending launch the very next day. And a national conversation evolved from there, with left- and right-leaning voices complaining about the platform’s direction or my critique of it.

As long as Wikipedia remains open, it is entirely possible for those who think differently to get involved.

As its 25th anniversary approaches, Wikipedia clearly needs reform. Not only does the platform have a long history of left-wing bias, but the purveyors of that bias — administrators, everyday editors, and others — stubbornly cling to their warped worldview and vilify those who dare to contest it.

The “Nine Theses” are the project’s first-ever thoroughgoing reform proposal. Among the ideas:

  • Allow multiple, competing articles per topic.
  • Stop ideological blacklisting of sources.
  • Restore the original neutrality policy.
  • Reveal the identities of the most powerful managers.
  • End unfair, indefinite blocking.
  • Adopt a formal legislative process.

Such ideas were bound to be a hard sell on Wikipedia. It has become institutionally ossified.

Nevertheless, I was delighted that the discussion of the theses has been robust, without much further prodding from me. Following the launch, Jimmy Wales actually stepped into the fray on the so-called talk page of an article called “Gaza genocide,” chiding the participants for violating Wikipedia’s neutrality policy. I chimed in as well. But the criticism was thrown back in our faces.

This brings me to the deeper problem: Wikipedia is stuck in its ways. How can it possibly be reformed when so many of its contributors like the bias, the anonymous leadership, the ease of blocking ideological foes, and other aspects of dysfunction? Reform seems impossible.

Yet there is one realistic way that we can make progress toward reform.

Above all else, those who care should get involved in Wikipedia. The total number of people who are really active on Wikipedia is surprisingly small. The number editing 100 times in any given month is in the low thousands, and this does not amount to that much time — perhaps one or two hours per week. Those who treat it as a part-time or full-time job — and so have real day-to-day influence — number in the hundreds.

In interviews, I have been urging the outcasts to converge on Wikipedia. You might think this is code for saying that conservatives and libertarians should try to stage a coup, but that is not so. Hindus and Israelis, among others, have also complained of being left out in recent years. The problem is an entrenched ruling class. As long as Wikipedia remains open, it is entirely possible for those who think differently to get involved.

RELATED: Wikipedia editors are trying to scrub the record clean of Iryna Zarutska’s slaughter by violent thug

Photo by Peter Zay/Anadolu via Getty Images

If you are a conservative or libertarian who is concerned about the slanted framing of Charlie Kirk’s assassination, get involved. If you are a classical liberal who is alarmed by the anti-Semitism within Wikipedia — like Florida Democrat Debbie Wasserman Schultz — it is time to make your presence felt. Wherever you may fall on the ideological spectrum, I call on good-faith citizens to become engaged editors who take productive discourse seriously, rather than scapegoating “the other side.”

Even a dozen new editors could make a difference, let alone hundreds or thousands who might be reading this column. Given that Wikipedia attracts billions of readers, in addition to featuring prominently in Google Search, Google Gemini, and elsewhere, improving the platform will strengthen our collective access to high-quality information across the board. It will bring us closer to truth.

So how do we solve the Wikipedia problem? With you, me, and all of us — individual action at scale.

Editor’s note: This article was originally published by RealClearPolitics and made available via RealClearWire.

The Culture Wars Didn’t ‘Come For Wikipedia.’ Wikipedia Is Fueling Them With Lies

Congress should consider expanding its investigation of Wikipedia to cover not just the site's antisemitism but its active censorship.

Elon Musk easily TRIGGERS Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales with 5-word tweet amid recession definition feud



After the U.S. posted two straight quarters of negative GDP growth, the Biden administration conveniently decided to change the conventional (though not "technical," according to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen) definition of "recession." Recent changes to the “recession” page on Wikipedia now have people wondering if the online encyclopedia has conveniently changed the conventional definition of "objective."

After a revision war erupted on Wikipedia's “recession” page, administrators locked the page from any further edits. Some people on Twitter seemed to find the newly un-editable version suspiciously favorable to Democrats.

\u201cWikipedia has changed the definition of recession.\n\nWayback's last capture was July 11, 2022. \n\nBased on Wiki's changelog, the line: "There is no global consensus on the definition of a recession" was added on July 27. \n\nThe page is now locked.\u201d
— unusual_whales (@unusual_whales) 1659050280
\u201c#Wikipedia comes to the Democrats' rescue again. Changes definition of #Recession. Wayback's last capture was July 11, 2022. Based on Wiki's changelog, the line: "There is no global consensus on the definition of a recession" was added on July 27. And they 'sem-locked' the page.\u201d
— Climate Dispatch (@Climate Dispatch) 1659015287
\u201c@unusual_whales Correct! Specifically, the most important change, memory-holing the oft-used "two quarters" rubric was made on the very day that the first 1Q GDP decline estimate was released. Huh. \n\nhttps://t.co/p0Cxpidapa\u201d
— unusual_whales (@unusual_whales) 1659050280
\u201c\u201cInflation is Prosperity. \nRecession is growth. \nShortage is Abundance\u201d\u201d
— Coinbits | DCA into bitcoin (@Coinbits | DCA into bitcoin) 1659016862

That's when Elon Musk jumped into the fray. "Wikipedia is losing its objectivity," Musk tweeted and tagged Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales.

\u201c@micsolana Wikipedia is losing its objectivity @jimmy_wales\u201d
— Mike Solana (@Mike Solana) 1659046490

Wales responded by inviting Musk to call him for a "real discussion," but only after saying "Reading too much Twitter nonsense is making you stupid."

\u201c@elonmusk @micsolana Elon kindly take a moment to read this: https://t.co/8MydQ8SNyW\n\nReading too much Twitter nonsense is making you stupid. Call me next week if you want a real discussion. @elonmusk\u201d
— Mike Solana (@Mike Solana) 1659046490
\u201c@jimmy_wales @elonmusk @micsolana How classy. @elonmusk points out the obvious, @jimmy_wales replies with an insult \ud83d\ude44\u201d
— Mike Solana (@Mike Solana) 1659046490
\u201c@jimmy_wales @elonmusk @micsolana Your cofounder has also criticized Wikipedia\u2019s bias. Rather then condescendingly writing off criticisms from @elonmusk perhaps you should heed the warning while your site\u2019s reputation still has a chance of being salvaged.\u201d
— Mike Solana (@Mike Solana) 1659046490
\u201c@jimmy_wales @elonmusk @micsolana Not a great look jimmy\u201d
— Mike Solana (@Mike Solana) 1659046490
\u201c@jimmy_wales @elonmusk @micsolana I'd love to listen to that call.\u201d
— Mike Solana (@Mike Solana) 1659046490
\u201c@Entrepreneur_NP @Lotitto @elonmusk @micsolana @Wikipedia What would I have to be frustrated about? The claim is obviously ridiculous and I said so. End of.\u201d
— Mike Solana (@Mike Solana) 1659046490
\u201c@jimmy_wales @elonmusk @micsolana Dang. I think Elon hit a nerve\u201d
— Mike Solana (@Mike Solana) 1659046490
On "The Glenn Beck Program," Glenn said he thinks the left would do anything to win an argument or to justify its radical policy positions, including alter our language. In the video clip below, Glenn details how those on the left have recently manipulated the meanings of at least seven words just to rationalize their out-of-touch political ideas.

Want more from Glenn Beck?

To enjoy more of Glenn’s masterful storytelling, thought-provoking analysis, and uncanny ability to make sense of the chaos, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.