Wikipedia Founder Under Fire for Criticizing ‘Gaza Genocide’ Article

London: Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales has stepped into a growing dispute over the platform’s article titled “Gaza genocide,” saying it violates Wikipedia’s neutrality policy and needs immediate revision.

The article currently describes the Gaza conflict as “the ongoing, intentional, and systematic destruction of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip carried out by Israel during the Gaza war.” Wales said this wording presents a contested claim as fact and fails to follow Wikipedia’s rule of neutral point of view (NPOV).

Writing on the article’s discussion page, Wales said he was questioned about the issue during a media interview, where he admitted the page “fails to meet our high standards” and called it a serious breach of neutrality.

His comments triggered strong backlash from several editors, who accused him of bowing to political pressure and undermining the independence of Wikipedia’s editorial community. One editor said Wales was “asking us to betray scholarship,” while others reminded that his founder status does not give him special authority over content decisions.

Wales later denied being influenced by outside forces, writing: “Outside pressure is irrelevant – and I should say that’s true in either direction.”

The debate highlights ongoing tensions within Wikipedia over how to handle politically sensitive topics, especially those related to the Israel-Palestine conflict.