The not-for-profit team that runs Wikipedia was intimidated by Ed Martin, the acting United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, in a letter implicating 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.
The letter implicates the Wikimedia Foundation, the company behind the on the internet encyclopedia, of going against a tax obligation code that needs nonprofits to run solely for “religious, charitable, scientific, testing for public safety, literary, or educational purposes.”
Investigations right into the tax-exempt standings of nonprofits are generally taken care of by the Internal Revenue Service, not criminal district attorneys, The Free Press kept in mind, pointing out the IRS complaint process.
Martin claimed in the letter that his workplace got details that Wikipedia’s “information management policies” have actually profited “foreign powers.” He declared that Wikipedia overturns “the interests of American taxpayers” because of its board being composed “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 composed.
Martin had no experience as a district attorney prior to President Donald Trump selected him to his existing function on an acting basis inJanuary Trump has since nominated him to continue to be in the setting completely.
Wikipedia editor Molly White told the Washington Post that Martin’s letter is an additional means Trump and his allies are “weaponizing laws to try to silence high-quality independent information.”
Even if you assume Wikipedia is rubbish or undependable or horrendously prejudiced or spreading out false information, you must still be very worried regarding the United States Attorney’s danger letter.
— Molly White (@molly0xFFF) April 26, 2025
The New York Times reported Friday that Martin has actually sent out in a similar way endangering letters to at the very least 4 clinical journals, consisting of the popular New England Journal of Medicine, implicating them of predisposition and being “partisans in various scientific debates.”
In his letter to Wikimedia, Martin asked the structure to address a variety of inquiries by May 15, including what systems remain in area to “safeguard” the general public from publicity.
Jacob Rogers, a lawyer for Wikimedia, told The Verge that the site is regulated 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 included that Wikipedia’s material small amounts 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 assaults on Wikipedia did not start withMartin Tech billionaire Elon Musk has actually gone to battle with the on the internet encyclopedia considering that at the very least 2023, when he offered to donate $1 billion to the structure under the problem it alter the system’s name to “Dickipedia.” In a collection of tweets, the Tesla chief executive officer advised his fans to quit contributing to Wikipedia, which he called “Wokipedia.”
