Wikipedia co-founder calls on Elon Musk to investigate government influence over online encyclopedia
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'Very few people know that there's been a lot of activity in compromising the website and using it to run misinformation campaigns'

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Published March 7, 2025 5:00am EST



Wikipedia co-founder Larry Sanger feels the site is now biased. (Getty Images)

Sanger, who left the organization in 2002, has been a heavy critic of Wikipedia since about 2005, when he says the website began to drift into left-wing bias.

"I like to call myself its founder now because I kind of want to distance myself from it," Sanger told .

I think there is a liberal spin when looking at articles on political figures as well.

With the new Trump administration's goal to tackle waste, fraud and abuse in the federal government, Sanger sees a prime opportunity for DOGE to take another look at Wikipedia.

He believes there's evidence to raise questions about potential government influence on the website and warned there could be foreign influence from China or Russia on the website as well.

So I just want to know what the heck they've been doing there," Sanger told Fox News Digital. "It seems to me this is a thing that needs to be discussed."

"I actually want the heat to be on both the government and on Wikipedia to take this sort of behavior in hand," he added.





Wikipedia co-founder Larry Sanger called on Elon Musk, President Trump, to investigate whether there's government "funding" involved in the online encyclopedia.  (Getty Images)

Musk, who has also long been a critic of Wikipedia, seemed receptive to Sanger's request.

In a follow-up tweet to President Trump that's drawn over 35 million views, Sanger asked Trump to write an executive order barring federal workers and government funds from being used to edit or pay for editing on Wikipedia.

"Good idea," Musk replied.

Wikipedia did not respond to a request for comment.
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