Trump Appointee Is Going After Wikipedia For Allegedly Spreading ‘Propaganda’

Ed Martin accused Wikipedia of "allowing foreign actors" to "manipulate information."The nonprofit group that runs Wikipedia was threatened by Ed Martin, the interim United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, in a letter accusing 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.Ed Martin accused Wikipedia of "allowing foreign actors" to "manipulate information."The letter accuses the Wikimedia Foundation, the organisation behind the online encyclopedia, of violating a tax code that requires nonprofits to operate exclusively for “religious, charitable, scientific, testing for public safety, literary, or educational purposes.”Investigations into the tax-exempt statuses of nonprofits are usually handled by the Internal Revenue Service, not criminal prosecutors, The Free Press noted, citing the IRS complaint process.Martin said in the letter that his office received information that Wikipedia’s “information management policies” have benefited “foreign powers.” He claimed that Wikipedia subverts “the interests of American taxpayers” due to its board being made up “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 wrote. Martin had no experience as a prosecutor before US President Donald Trump appointed him to his current role on an interim basis in January. Trump has since nominated him to remain in the position permanently.Wikipedia editor Molly White told the Washington Post that Martin’s letter is another way Trump and his allies are “weaponising laws to try to silence high-quality independent information.”Even if you think Wikipedia is garbage or unreliable or horrendously biased or spreading misinformation, you should still be extremely concerned about the US Attorney’s threat letter.— Molly White (@molly0xFFF) April 26, 2025The New York Times reported on Friday that Martin has sent similarly threatening letters to at least four medical journals, including the renowned New England Journal of Medicine, accusing them of bias and being “partisans in various scientific debates.”In his letter to Wikimedia, Martin asked the foundation to answer a number of questions by May 15, including what mechanisms are in place to “safeguard” the public from propaganda.Jacob Rogers, an attorney for Wikimedia, told The Verge that the site is governed 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 added that Wikipedia’s content moderation 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 attacks on Wikipedia did not begin with Martin. Tech billionaire Elon Musk has been at war with the online encyclopedia since at least 2023, when he offered to donate $1 billion to the foundation under the condition it change the platform’s name to “Dickipedia.” In a series of tweets, the Tesla CEO urged his followers to stop donating to Wikipedia, which he called “Wokipedia.”Wokipedia has a possibly terminal case of the woke mind virus. Reddit too. https://t.co/yjfzE6lEyw— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 26, 2024Related...Donald Trump Says Putin 'Maybe Doesn't Want To Stop The War' Following Talks With ZelenskyyTrump Suggests He Wants To Cross One Of Ukraine's Major Red Lines In Peace TalksMagazine Cover Puts A World Of Hurt On Trump's First 100 Days

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