Musk has denounced Wikipedia as "Wokepedia" on X and urged people not to donate to the platform.
  • @Glide@lemmy.ca
    151•6 months ago

    A freely accessible collection of human knowledge? Of course authoritarians hate it. An informed populace is their enemy.

    • @kchr@lemmy.sdf.org
      12•6 months ago

      All under the guise of “free speech”. Which, as we all know, means speech that align with Elon’s currently held opinions.

  • shoulderoforion
    86•6 months ago

    Just made my donation to Wikipedia, never have before, this news is as good a prompt as I could have ever received Fuck Elon Musk

  • @phoneymouse@lemmy.world
    39•6 months ago

    I have my issues with Wikipedia, and he’s not wrong about the concentration of power amongst editors. However, fuck Elon Musk. He’s just mad that he can’t control Wikipedia himself.

    • @UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.worldEnglish
      17•6 months ago

      he’s not wrong about the concentration of power amongst editors

      The classic problem of an open-edit document like Wikipedia is the manpower it takes to manage the project properly relative to the incentives to fuck with it by malicious actors. Elon’s answer to this problem is to monetize the sinking ship to the hilt and then use the excess revenues to buy the next new thing. The Jimmy Wales approach is to build out a network of trusted administrators and semi-trusted volunteers to play wack-a-mole on this one single project forever.

      Originally, the theory of Wikipedia was that you’d have far more good actors than bad. Therefore, the bulk of the encyclopedia would accumulate useful information that went largely unmolested and didn’t need to be babysat by live humans. This… hasn’t proven to be the case. So the costs of the website continue to expand as the content base does.

      Automation of spammers, scammers, and malicious actors has made the problem even more difficult. And I have no doubt that Elon’s own digital vandalism efforts have taken their toll as well. There’s simply too much economic incentive to fuck with the public’s understanding of the world for a project like Wikipedia to go ignored.

      I’m afraid its days are ultimately numbered, precisely because too many people trust it.

      • @ironsoap@lemmy.oneEnglish
        2•6 months ago

        Makes me wonder if you won’t see and Andrew Carnegie of this era step up and endow it against his fellow capitalist.

      • @WhiskyTangoFoxtrot@lemmy.world
        2•6 months ago

        I’m proud to downvote this screed of baseless doomsaying but I’m dismayed at the fact that I’m the only one doing so.

        Just goes to show that you come to Lemmy because of the potential of a federated platform, not for the reality of its current community (which is absolute garbage.)

        • @UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.worldEnglish
          1•6 months ago

          this screed of baseless doomsaying

          If you think enshittification can’t come for you, its only a matter of time before you’re proven wrong.

          • @WhiskyTangoFoxtrot@lemmy.world
            2•6 months ago

            If you think that enshittification of all platforms everywhere is completely inevitable and we should just throw up our hands and give up at the slightest threat then you’re unfortunately in good company here.

  • IninewCrowEnglish
    36•6 months ago

    Reminds me to donate to Wikipedia … and download another updated copy of the entire Wikipedia database.

        • IninewCrowEnglish
          5•6 months ago

          I’ve only ever used Kiwix … it’s the easiest and most easily installable on different devices.

          I’ve downloaded the entire database about six times now over the past few years. I keep a duplicated copy everywhere … laptop, tablet, storage drive, portable drive, smartphone … in multiple places at home / cottage / relatives place

          My latest download will only be to have an updated copy as my last one is about a year old.

          I don’t like doomsday prepping and I don’t really prepare for anything. I’ve been self sufficient all my life and if the world ends, I’ll be able to make do on my own, I always have. But when it comes to knowledge and information, keeping a copy of Wikipedia is no-brainer for me.

          • @kchr@lemmy.sdf.org
            2•6 months ago

            I’m not the prepper person either, but I like to be self-sufficient and not be overly reliant on modern technology. My primary use case has been during travels.

  • Allah
    19•6 months ago

    this guy is really good at making enemies

    • @UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.worldEnglish
      10•6 months ago

      He’s a vulture capitalist. Very good at finding ways to cannibalize a nice public thing for the benefit of a handful of private malicious actors.

      That’s always going to make enemies. But so what? You’re a vulture. You can always pick up and leave today, then find another wounded animal to prey on tomorrow.

  • ChainweaselEnglish
    18•6 months ago

    Well, I’d been putting it off so I figured this was the push I needed to donate again