Wikipedia Founder Says X Being 'Overrun By Trolls And Lunatics' After Elon Musk Takeover: 'It's Not Good For Any Of Us'

Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikipedia, has publicly expressed criticism over Elon Musk‘s acquisition of the social media platform Twitter, now known as X. Wales voiced concerns over an uptick in troll activity on the platform and the departure of serious users.

What Happened: In a report by CNBC, Wales shared his views at the Web Summit tech conference in Lisbon. He pointed out that since Musk’s takeover of X, formerly Twitter, there has been a noticeable increase in troll activity, resulting in the departure of thoughtful users.

"Twitter was, and now I guess X sort of is, in a way, the default public square for the world. And if it's being overrun by trolls and lunatics, it's not good for any of us,” he said.

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Wales added that the platform’s engagement metrics are declining, as evidenced by Similarweb’s research. Wales also touched upon Musk’s offer to donate $1 billion to Wikipedia, conditioned on a name change to “Dickipedia,” which he opted to disregard.

This year, Wales launched his own platform, Trust Cafe, in response to the situation on Musk’s X. Trust Cafe, a pilot project, intends to foster a community of trustworthy users, valuing content for its trustworthiness over viral appeal.

Why It Matters: The criticism from Wales comes on the heels of a controversial proposal by Musk. Musk offered a $1 billion donation to Wikipedia, stipulating that it changes its name to "Dickipedia" for a year. Musk has since gone on to highlight what he perceives as a "fundamental difference" between Wikipedia and Community Notes on X, pointing out the inherent biases of Wikipedia while claiming a lack of control over Community Notes on X.

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