The not-for-profit crew that runs Wikipedia was intimidated by Ed Martin, the appearing United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, in a letter implicating it of “allowing foreign actors to manipulate information and spread propaganda to the American public.”
“Wikipedia is permitting information manipulation on its platform, including the rewriting of key, historical events and biographical information of current and previous American leaders, as well as other matters implicating the national security and the interests of the United States,” Martin wrote in a letter dated Thursday that was first reported by The Free Press.
The letter implicates the Wikimedia Foundation, the corporate behind the on the web encyclopedia, of going towards a tax obligation code that wants nonprofits to run solely for “religious, charitable, scientific, testing for public safety, literary, or educational purposes.”
Investigations proper into the tax-exempt standings of nonprofits are usually taken care of by the Internal Revenue Service, not prison district attorneys, The Free Press stored in thoughts, mentioning the IRS complaint process.
Martin claimed within the letter that his office bought particulars that Wikipedia’s “information management policies” have truly profited “foreign powers.” He declared that Wikipedia overturns “the interests of American taxpayers” due to its board being composed “primarily of foreign nationals.”
“Masking propaganda that influences public opinion under the guise of providing informational material is antithetical to Wikimedia’s ‘educational’ mission,” Martin composed.
Martin had no experience as a district legal professional previous to President Donald Trump chosen him to his present perform on an appearing foundation inJanuary Trump has since nominated him to proceed to be within the setting fully.
Wikipedia editor Molly White told the Washington Post that Martin’s letter is a further means Trump and his allies are “weaponizing laws to try to silence high-quality independent information.”
Even in case you assume Wikipedia is garbage or undependable or horrendously prejudiced or spreading out false data, you should nonetheless be very fearful concerning the United States Attorney’s hazard letter.
— Molly White (@molly0xFFF) April 26, 2025
The New York Times reported Friday that Martin has truly despatched out in an identical approach endangering letters to on the very least 4 scientific journals, consisting of the favored New England Journal of Medicine, implicating them of predisposition and being “partisans in various scientific debates.”
In his letter to Wikimedia, Martin requested the construction to handle quite a lot of inquiries by May 15, together with what methods stay in space to “safeguard” most people from publicity.
Jacob Rogers, a lawyer for Wikimedia, told The Verge that the site is regulated by “neutral point of view, verifiability, and no original research, which exist to ensure information is presented as accurately, fairly, and neutrally as possible.”
He included that Wikipedia’s materials small quantities is “overseen by nearly 260,000 volunteers and is open and transparent for all to see, which is why we welcome opportunities to explain how Wikipedia works and will do so in the appropriate forum.”
Right- wing assaults on Wikipedia didn’t begin withMartin Tech billionaire Elon Musk has truly gone to battle with the on the web encyclopedia contemplating that on the very least 2023, when he offered to donate $1 billion to the construction beneath the issue it alter the system’s identify to “Dickipedia.” In a group of tweets, the Tesla chief govt officer suggested his followers to give up contributing to Wikipedia, which he known as “Wokipedia.”
