Elon Musk urges public to halt donations to Wikipedia, citing alleged bias

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has called on the public to stop supporting Wikipedia financially, accusing the online encyclopedia of being influenced by “far-left activists.” Musk’s comments, made on his social platform X (formerly Twitter), follow a report by the US-based website Pirate Wires, which claimed a group of around 40 Wikipedia editors has coordinated to present pro-Palestinian narratives and fringe academic perspectives on the Israel-Palestine conflict as mainstream. This editorial activity reportedly intensified after the October 7 Hamas attacks in Israel.

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Citing Pirate Wires, Musk highlighted an example where an editor allegedly removed references to Hamas’ 1988 charter calling for violence against Jews and the destruction of Israel from Wikipedia’s entry on Hamas. The omission, according to the report, is part of what Pirate Wires described as an ongoing campaign to “delegitimize Israel” and present radical groups in a positive light. 

Wikipedia is controlled by far-left activists.

People should stop donating to them. https://t.co/Cjq2diadFY

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk)

Wikipedia is controlled by far-left activists.

People should stop donating to them. https://t.co/Cjq2diadFY

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 25, 2024

">October 25, 2024

Musk, a vocal supporter of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, expressed his concerns on X, stating, “Wikipedia is controlled by far-left activists. People should stop donating to them.”

The incident underscores Musk’s ongoing criticism of Wikipedia, which he has previously accused of editorial bias, particularly in relation to political and social issues.