Elon Musk has whims. In his crusade against “wokism”, he found a new victim: the online encyclopedia Wikipedia. “Since mainstream media propaganda is considered a “valid” source by Wikipedia, it simply and naturally becomes an extension of mainstream media propaganda! he tweeted Tuesday, hours after performing a Nazi salute during President Donald Trump's inauguration day.
The attacks on Wikipedia are therefore an extension of the populist remarks of the allies of the new American president. “Wikipedia works from sources. Conspiracy theories are denounced because the mainstream media are anti-conspiracy, describes Lionel Barbe, lecturer in information and communication sciences at Paris Nanterre University. These attacks [de l’extrême droite] are an extension of those that we find against the mainstream media. »
Elon Musk and Marre on “Wokepedia”
The obsession is not new. In December, Elon Musk had already asked “to stop giving to Wokepedia until it restores balance to its editorial line”. A year earlier, he ironically offered to give a billion dollars to the Wikimedia foundation, which manages the collaborative encyclopedia, if it agreed to rename the site “Dickipedia” (“Bitopedia” in English). And when the encyclopedia is not criticized on social networks, it is exploited. In France, for example, Eric Zemmour's teams undertook significant modifications in favor of the far-right candidate in the presidential election, as reported in the book by journalist Vincent Bresson At the heart of Z.
The refrain has been going on for ten years. Alexandre Hocquet, professor at the University of Lorraine who worked on the history of Wikipedia, places this type of attack at the emergence of the new extreme right in the United States in 2014. And Elon Musk is not the alone in this offensive against Wikipedia. In the tech branch of the far right, venture capitalists Chamath Palihapitiya and Shaun Maguire have also denounced the “lies” and “bias” of the online encyclopedia. In France, a series of articles in several media, from Point au Figaroalso highlights supposed biases in information processing.
Editors who rely on sources
Is there any truth in these criticisms? “For me, the content is quite balanced,” says Jules*, a Wikipedia contributor for fourteen years. As an administrator, he intervenes a lot on themes linked to climate change, but also on neutrality, the observatory of encyclopedia sources or anti-advertising month. “We are not aiming for “center neutrality”, but we are going to restore the relevant sources according to their importance in the field of knowledge,” he explains. On climate change, for example, we are not going to silence climate skeptics, but recontextualize their theories. In short, it's not “five minutes for Hitler and five minutes for the Jews.” Disinformation is presented as such, and it is unpleasant. »
As for the community, “everyone is welcome as long as they respect the founding principles of Wikipedia”. If it is true that “historically, Wikipedia was created in a left-wing environment, by hackers, computer scientists, defenders of the commons, and around the value of collaboration”, notes Lionel Barbe, the community today understands today a diversity of profiles.
-Concretely, Elon Musk's threats and calls for boycott are unlikely to affect Wikipedia. “The encyclopedia does not cost much, it uses very frugal technology,” notes Alexandre Hocquet. Ultimately, “far-right personalities can copy content from Wikipedia and create alternative encyclopedias”. Like Conservapedia, launched in 2006, and which for example begins its article “Global Warming” by qualifying the phenomenon as an “unproven theory”.
“Pressure and insults against contributors”
Furthermore, the Wikimedia Foundation is non-commercial, recalls Lionel Barbe, which protects it from a takeover or other hostile acquisition. It receives enough donations to maintain Wikipedia, and even support side projects to improve, for example, the visibility of female personalities on the platform. “This is what Elon Musk would like to dry up,” warns Lionel Barbe.
Our file on Elon Musk
The community has already put in place some safeguards. An automatic filter detects and signals, for example, the recurring removal of the terms “extreme left” or “extreme right”. But, moreover, Wikipedia's work remains dependent on sources. “If the press ecosystem deteriorates, so does the quality of Wikipedia’s sources,” warns Jules*. In addition, there may be pressure or insults against contributors. » The publishing wars still have a bright future ahead of them.
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