Elon Musk Among Tech Billionaires Aiming to 'Defund' Wikipedia, Calling It 'An Extension of Legacy Media Propaganda'

Elon Musk is among a slew of billionaire venture capitalists in tech aiming to "defund" Wikipedia because they believe it is "an extension of legacy media propaganda."

Musk was a fan of the open-source platform as recently as January 2021, when he wished Wikipedia a happy 20th birthday, adding, "So glad you exist."

"I love Wikipedia. It just gets better over time," Musk posted in March 2017.

However, Musk's opinion of Wikipedia has shifted along with his political leanings.

"Since legacy media propaganda is considered a 'valid' source by Wikipedia, it naturally simply becomes an extension of legacy media propaganda!" Musk wrote on Tuesday, after his Wikipedia page was updated to include the gesture he made at Trump's inauguration, which was "compared to a Nazi salute or fascist salute."

"Defund Wikipedia until balance is restored!" the world's richest man said in a follow-up X post on Monday. It accompanied a graph showing "mentions of political extremism in English" on the platform, with the far-left having nearly a third of the mentions of far-right.

In addition to Musk, Chamath Palihapitiya, a billionaire venture capitalist, both of whom are MAGA supporters, have also voiced their "concerns" over Wikipedia's objectivity.

"Wikipedia lies. Mainstream media lies. They will contort the truth to make you believe in the bogeyman. In falling for it, you're giving up your God given ability to think for yourself," Palihapitiya claimed in an X post.

Molly White, a software engineer, Wikipedia editor and critic of the decentralized blockchain and cryptocurrency industries, claimed Musk and his cohort's condemnation is "part of an intensifying campaign against free and open access information."

"Having succeeded in purchasing positions of influence inside the White House, the billionaires and tech VCs have now set their sights back on Wikipedia," she wrote in a scathing X post.

White, who has been editing Wikipedia pages for nearly a decade, said Musk's negative views of the platform are, in part, a result of his wanting to expend control where he can't, writing that he "spent $44 billion to seize control of Twitter after claiming it was biased against conservative views."

"But as other information sources fall to acquisition, intimidation, or other pressure, Wikipedia's stubborn independence becomes more vital than ever. The attacks from Musk and his allies aren't just about an online encyclopedia — they're part of a broader assault on any information source that refuses to be controlled," White stated in Citation Needed.

Jimmy Wales, who co-founded Wikipedia alongside Larry Sanger in 2001, also responded to Musk's tweet.

"I think Elon is unhappy that Wikipedia is not for sale. I hope his campaign to defund us results in lots of donations from people who care about the truth. If Elon wanted to help, he'd be encouraging kind and thoughtful intellectual people he agrees with to engage," he stated.