Shots Fired: President of Wikipedia, Jimmy Wales, Responds to Elon Musk's "Dickipedia" Proposal

Elon Musk (left), Jimny Wales (right)... image was created with the help of A.I. softwarePhoto bythe author (via midjourney.com)

You've probably seen them while skimming Wikipedia summaries-- ads, from Wikipedia's president himself, Jimmy Wales, asking for donations. And, while your reaction may be similar to many, finding them annoying but not overly invasive, many of its long-time users have a particular gripe with them.

A gripe Elon Musk shares.

Elon Musk Proposes a Solution

Early this week, on X (formerly Twitter), Elon proposed a solution to Wikipedia's donation controversy, offering $1 billion if they "change their name to Dickipedia."

Like many of Elon's posts, users thought of it as a childish joke, responding with a series of memes and witty responses.

But, it seems as though the lighthearted banter toward Wikipedia goes a little deeper.

Elon Musk's Disdain For Wikipedia Ads

Elon poking fun at Wikipedia did not come as a surprise, as the tech billionaire has no problem voicing his opinion online.

Under his original X post, Elon added context, stating,

Have you ever wondered why the Wikimedia Foundation wants so much money? It certainly isn’t needed to operate Wikipedia. You can literally fit a copy of the entire text on your phone!

So, what’s the money for? Inquiring minds want to know …Readers added context they thought people might want to knowThe Wikimedia Foundation is a charitable non-profit, providing free access to Wikipedia.

While a text & English-only copy of Wikipedia is about 51GB, adding all media + supported languages brings it to 428TB.

In 2022 Wikimedia had $154M in revenue with $145M in expenses.

Elon Musk adds context to his post.Photo by@elonmusk via X (formerly Twitter)

But, much like his originally jovial intent to purchase Twitter, don't be surprised is Elon decides to pull the trigger if given the opportunity. Elon has questioned Wikipedia's practices in the past, asking why such helpful and condensed information sources could not be accessed on mobile devices.

Being a powerful businessman with an engineer's mind, Elon sees the world in which it "should" work, and since becoming one of the richest figures in the world, has no problem throwing money around to "fix things". And, seemingly can't stand the fact that Jimmy Wales, president of Wikipedia, would ask for donations from its users as opposed to fixing issues with information validity himself.

And, many experts, feel as though the attack on Wikipedia may come as a defence to the hailstorm of "fake news" currently dominating Elon's newest business venture, X (formerly Twitter). In a recent X post, Jimmy Wales, had this to say in response to Elon's offering,

"Fast moving claims and counter claims, and @elonmusk has removed all the core features that made it even remotely possible to tell real journalist from fakes."

Jimmy Wales responds to Elon MuskPhoto by@jimmy_wales via X (formerly Twitter)

Zoe Williams, a columnist for The Guardian, likened Musk's attack of Wikipedia to a "frat boy" unaware of the nuances of the internet.

"Wincing and scorn aside, Musk is after Wikipedia for a reason. The sight of something created socially that works is an insult to him."

Although it's impossible to tell for sure, it seems as though Elon's jovial teasing may come as a result of deeper issues as X continues to ward off fake news.

Hey, I'm Hudson! I write about social media, marketing, and modern entrepreneurship. Hit follow for more stories like this one.