Elon Musk, the billionaire CEO of X (formerly Twitter), recently made a bold and unusual offer to Wikipedia. Musk, known for his outspoken and often controversial statements, tweeted that he would donate $1 billion to the nonprofit online encyclopedia if it changed its name to “D–kipedia.”
In his tweet, Musk took a jab at Wikipedia’s objectivity—a topic he has criticized in the past. He also quipped, “(Please add that to the [cow and poop emojis] on my wiki page) in the interests of accuracy,” referencing his ongoing critique of the Wikimedia Foundation, the organization that operates Wikipedia.
Musk questioned why the foundation requires significant funding, claiming that its operational needs don’t justify the money it raises. “Have you ever wondered why the Wikimedia Foundation wants so much money?” Musk wrote. “Wikipedia is losing its objectivity. It certainly isn’t needed to operate Wikipedia. You can literally fit a copy of the entire text on your phone! So, what’s the money for? Inquiring minds want to know…”
Accompanying Musk’s comments was a Community Note highlighting the scale of Wikipedia’s operations. The platform handles over 25 billion page views and 44 million edits each month. These activities require substantial resources, with Wikimedia Foundation’s expenses totaling around $146 million annually. These funds cover product development, design improvements, legal support, training, administration, and fundraising.
When asked about Musk’s criticism, a spokesperson for the Wikimedia Foundation emphasized their donation-based funding model, explaining that the foundation operates at a fraction of the cost of other top 10 global websites. The spokesperson added, “Wikipedia is the only website among the top 10 most-visited global websites that is run by a nonprofit. We invest every donation back into serving Wikipedia, other Wikimedia projects, and our mission of free knowledge.” According to them, the average donation is just $11.
This isn’t Musk’s first clash with Wikipedia. In 2022, he criticized the site for temporarily blocking edits to its “recession” page during a debate over the definition of the term. At the time, Musk accused Wikipedia of losing its impartiality.
Wikipedia, however, prides itself on being a community-driven platform. Anyone can contribute to its pages by creating an account and making edits. According to the site, over 46 million accounts have been created, with 121,540 users actively editing pages in the past month. While the site welcomes all contributors, it acknowledges that perfection isn’t required, as Wikipedia is a work in progress.
Interestingly, Wikipedia’s contributors, or “Wikipedians,” skew heavily male, with 87% identifying as men and most falling between the ages of 17 and 40. Despite its challenges, Wikipedia remains one of the most-visited websites globally, maintaining its commitment to free knowledge for all.
Previous Post
