Interim DC legal professional Ed Martin has written a letter to the Wikimedia Foundation — the group behind Wikipedia — that calls into query its standing as a nonprofit entity. In the letter, which was obtained by The Free Press, Martin claims he discovered that Wikipedia “is partaking in a collection of actions that would violate its obligations” underneath US legislation about tax-exempt organizations.
Under the legislation (Section 501(c)(3) of Title 26), tax-exempt organizations should function “solely for spiritual, charitable, scientific, testing for public security, literary, or instructional functions.” Martin alleges that Wikipedia is “permitting international actors to govern data and unfold propaganda,” together with by “rewriting” historic occasions and thru “different issues implicating the nationwide safety and the pursuits of the United States.”
Martin asks the Wikimedia Foundation to answer a number of questions, corresponding to what it’s doing to “safeguard” the general public from propaganda, in addition to efforts to exclude “international affect operatives from making focused edits” on matters that might “reshape or rewrite historical past.” He’s giving the Foundation till May fifteenth to reply.
“Wikipedia’s content material is ruled by three core content material insurance policies: impartial perspective, verifiability, and no unique analysis, which exist to make sure data is introduced as precisely, pretty, and neutrally as potential,” Jacob Rogers, the Wikimedia Foundation’s affiliate common counsel, stated in an emailed assertion to The Verge. “The total technique of content material moderation is overseen by almost 260,000 volunteers and is open and clear for all to see, which is why we welcome alternatives to clarify how Wikipedia works and can accomplish that within the applicable discussion board.”
Martin’s letter displays a broader pattern of the appropriate focusing on Wikipedia. Last yr, Elon Musk informed supporters to “cease donating to Wokepedia” earlier than later calling the positioning “an extension of legacy media propaganda.” In January, a report from Forward.com discovered that The Heritage Foundation, the right-wing suppose tank behind Project 2025, created a presentation with a collection of slides geared towards “focusing on” Wikipedia editors.
The Wikimedia Foundation has since created instruments to guard the identities of editors, with CEO Maryana Iskander telling the neighborhood that it’s “seeing a rise in threats, each regulation and litigation the world over,” as reported by 404 Media.
