Elon Musk recently urged his supporters to “defund” Wikipedia. The Tesla CEO made this statement in response to a post on X (formerly Twitter) criticizing what it described as Wikipedia’s alleged bias in mentioning political extremism. Musk tweeted, “Defund Wikipedia until balance is restored!”
In response, Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales fired back, suggesting Musk’s frustration might stem from the fact that Wikipedia is “not for sale.” responding to Musk’s post, Wales said, “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.”
Elon Musk’s Nazi salute row
The row started after a public appearance at the post-inauguration event of Donald Trump where Musk performed a gesture that some observers interpreted as resembling the infamous Nazi salute.
In a X post, Musk called out Wikipedia spreading propaganda. Wales fired back saying “Is there anything you consider inaccurate in that description? It’s true you did the gesture (twice) and that people did compare it to a Nazi salute (many people) and it’s true that you denied it had any meaning.”
“That isn’t MSM propaganda. That’s fact. Every element of it,” he added.
Elon Musk’s $1 billion offer to Wikipedia
Elon Musk has previously offered $1 billion to Wikipedia to rename itself ‘Dickipedia‘ for a minimum of one year. This proposal was initially made last year and still stands, Musk said in a post recently. Doge Designer shared the original post, prompting Musk to reaffirm that his offer is still active. “Elon Musk once offered Wikipedia $1 billion to change their name to ‘Dickipedia’,” the post from Doge Designer read. Musk was quick to respond saying, “True. Offer still stands.”