Wikipedia Co-founder Warns Encyclopedia Has Become a Propaganda Tool

Wikipedia co-founder Lawrence Mark Sanger has warned that the online encyclopedia has increasingly become a propaganda tool, arguing that alleged intelligence-agency involvement and corporate editing have undermined its neutrality. In an interview with German newspaper Berliner Zeitung, Sanger said Wikipedia was recognized early on as an important propaganda platform and claimed that the CIA had edited Wikipedia. Reports of edits linked to the CIA and FBI emerged in 2007 after programmer Virgil Griffith developed WikiScanner, a tool that connected Wikipedia edits with the IP addresses of organizations.

Sanger also cited reporting by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, which found that communications company Portland Communications had rewritten Wikipedia entries concerning governments and wealthy institutions, including Qatar, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Libya’s Sovereign Wealth Fund. He argued that such interventions raise questions about the platform’s editorial independence and its ability to maintain neutrality on politically sensitive subjects.

The Wikipedia co-founder further pointed to former Wikimedia Foundation chief Katherine Maher, who said in a 2021 Atlantic Council discussion that the organization had held talks with governments and other online platforms. Sanger said powerful institutions remain highly interested in Wikipedia and expressed concern that organizations such as the World Economic Forum and World Bank are increasingly treated by the platform as authoritative sources, potentially influencing how information is presented to millions of readers.