How Wikipedia Turned Into an ‘Engine of Defamation’ | Co-Founder Larry Sanger

American Thought Leaders

Larry Sanger is the co-founder of Wikipedia and coined the name “Wikipedia' in 2001. He established many of Wikipedia’s founding policies, including the original neutrality guidelines, before he left in 2002.

Since then, he has become a vocal critic of Wikipedia’s growing ideological bias, particularly on politically charged issues.

Sanger says certain outlets are favored as sources while others are blacklisted, creating systemic distortion and exclusion of dissenting views.

Most of Wikipedia’s top editors are anonymous, which means that people have no legal recourse for lies or inaccuracies about them that may be published on Wikipedia’s pages.

In this episode, Sanger breaks down what went wrong with Wikipedia and how it can be reformed.

Sanger has put forward nine theses for reform, including enabling competing articles, restoring original neutrality policies, convening an editorial assembly, and creating transparent rating systems for entries.

But what is the likelihood it will happen? Can—and should—Congress do something about it? And could Elon Musk’s Grokipedia offer a more balanced alternative?

Editor’s Note: The Wikimedia Foundation did not immediately respond to our request for comment.

Views expressed in this video are opinions of the host and the guest, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.