Trump DOJ goon threatens Wikipedia
- Interim DC attorney Ed Martin has sent a letter to the Wikimedia Foundation, questioning Wikipedia’s status as a nonprofit entity due to alleged violations of US law.
- Martin claims that Wikipedia is allowing foreign actors to manipulate information and spread propaganda, including rewriting historical events and altering content on topics related to national security.
- The Wikimedia Foundation has responded, stating that its content policies are designed to ensure accurate, fair, and neutral presentation of information, with over 260,000 volunteers overseeing the moderation process.
- Martin’s letter reflects a broader trend of right-wing groups targeting Wikipedia, including Elon Musk’s criticism of the site as “Wokepedia” and The Heritage Foundation’s efforts to target Wikipedia editors.
- The Wikimedia Foundation has taken steps to protect its editors’ identities, citing an increase in threats and litigation from around the world, with CEO Maryana Iskander stating that the organization is “seeing an increase in threats” due to its work on sensitive topics.
Interim DC attorney Ed Martin has written a letter to the Wikimedia Foundation — the organization behind Wikipedia — that calls into question its status as a nonprofit entity. In the letter, which was obtained by The Free Press, Martin claims he found that Wikipedia “is engaging in a series of activities that could violate its obligations” under US law about tax-exempt organizations.
Under the law (Section 501(c)(3) of Title 26), tax-exempt organizations must operate “exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific, testing for public safety, literary, or educational purposes.” Martin alleges that Wikipedia is “allowing foreign actors to manipulate information and spread propaganda,” including by “rewriting” historical events and through “other matters implicating the national security and the interests of the United States.”
Martin is known for thinly justified legal threats against media organizations. In recent days, Martin has sent letters to the New England Journal of Medicine, the CHEST Journal, and Obstetrics and Gynecology, accusing them of being “partisan in various scientific debates.”
Martin asks the Wikimedia Foundation to respond to several questions, such as what it’s doing to “safeguard” the public from propaganda, as well as efforts to exclude “foreign influence operatives from making targeted edits” on topics that would “reshape or rewrite history.” He’s giving the Foundation until May 15th to respond.
“Wikipedia’s content is governed by three core content policies: neutral point of view, verifiability, and no original research, which exist to ensure information is presented as accurately, fairly, and neutrally as possible,” Jacob Rogers, the Wikimedia Foundation’s associate general counsel, said in an emailed statement to The Verge. “The entire process of 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.”
Martin’s letter reflects a broader trend of the right targeting Wikipedia. Last year, Elon Musk told supporters to “stop donating to Wokepedia” before later calling the site “an extension of legacy media propaganda.” In January, a report from Forward.com found that The Heritage Foundation, the right-wing think tank behind Project 2025, created a presentation with a series of slides geared toward “targeting” Wikipedia editors.
The Wikimedia Foundation has since created tools to protect the identities of editors, with CEO Maryana Iskander telling the community that it’s “seeing an increase in threats, both regulation and litigation across the world,” as reported by 404 Media.