After offering to donate $1 billion to Wikipedia during the weekend, with the condition of a name change, Elon Musk has now spoken about a “fundamental difference” he perceives between the online encyclopedia and a feature on his social media platform, X (formerly Twitter).
What Happened: Over the weekend, Musk took to X and announced a staggering $1 billion donation offer to Wikipedia, provided the platform agreed to change its name to “Dickipedia” for a year, as we reported earlier.
The tech billionaire has now spoken about how Wikipedia is subjected to biases, whereas even he cannot control the much-talked-about feature, Community Notes on X.
See Also: Elon Musk Announces Two Tiers Of X Premium Subscriptions, Including An Ad-Free Version
According to Musk, Wikipedia’s hierarchical nature, governed by higher-ranking editors, creates inherent biases that affect the information presented.
On the other hand, X Community Notes relies on users with diverse viewpoints, determined by their rating and writing of notes.
“Crucially, even I, as the controlling shareholder of the company, cannot change the outcome of a Note,” Musk said, adding, “This is an extremely fundamental difference.”
Musk also responded positively when a user commented on the dedication of Wikipedia editors who accumulate credentials like “Barnstars,” stating that, for them, it becomes a significant part of their lives.
The user further said that the X Community Notes doesn’t focus on rankings and clout, with the sole reward being continued access to the feature.
Why It’s Important: This isn’t the first time Musk has taken a jab at Wikipedia.
Just last month, while conversing with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Musk said, “History is written by the victors, but not if your enemies are still alive and have a lot of time on their hands to edit Wikipedia.”
Previously this year, the tech mogul compared Twitter favorably to the online encyclopedia, asserting that the platform promotes free speech more effectively.
It is worth noting that the feature, Community Notes, that Musk has been touting has been facing massive criticism since it erroneously flagged a graphic video shared by Donald Trump Jr., related to the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.
Photo by Salma Bashir Motiwala on Shutterstock
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