Trump DOJ goon threatens Wikipedia

Interim DC lawyer Ed Martin has written a missive to the Wikimedia Foundation — the enactment down Wikipedia — that calls into question its presumption arsenic a nonprofit entity. In the letter, which was obtained by The Free Press, Martin claims helium recovered that Wikipedia “is engaging successful a bid of activities that could interruption its obligations” nether US instrumentality astir tax-exempt organizations.

Under the instrumentality (Section 501(c)(3) of Title 26), tax-exempt organizations indispensable run “exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific, investigating for nationalist safety, literary, oregon acquisition purposes.” Martin alleges that Wikipedia is “allowing overseas actors to manipulate accusation and dispersed propaganda,” including by “rewriting” humanities events and done “other matters implicating the nationalist information and the interests of the United States.”

Martin is known for thinly justified ineligible threats against media organizations. In caller days, Martin has sent letters to the New England Journal of Medicine, the CHEST Journal, and Obstetrics and Gynecology, accusing them of being “partisan successful assorted technological debates.”

Martin asks the Wikimedia Foundation to respond to respective questions, specified arsenic what it’s doing to “safeguard” the nationalist from propaganda, arsenic good arsenic efforts to exclude “foreign power operatives from making targeted edits” connected topics that would “reshape oregon rewrite history.” He’s giving the Foundation until May 15th to respond.

“Wikipedia’s contented is governed by 3 core content policies: neutral constituent of view, verifiability, and no archetypal research, which beryllium to guarantee accusation is presented arsenic accurately, fairly, and neutrally arsenic possible,” Jacob Rogers, the Wikimedia Foundation’s subordinate wide counsel, said successful an emailed connection to The Verge. “The full process of contented moderation is overseen by astir 260,000 volunteers and is unfastened and transparent for each to see, which is wherefore we invited opportunities to explicate however Wikipedia works and volition bash truthful successful the due forum.”

Martin’s missive reflects a broader inclination of the close targeting Wikipedia. Last year, Elon Musk told supporters to “stop donating to Wokepedia” before aboriginal calling the site “an hold of bequest media propaganda.” In January, a study from Forward.com recovered that The Heritage Foundation, the right-wing deliberation vessel down Project 2025, created a presumption with a bid of slides geared toward “targeting” Wikipedia editors.

The Wikimedia Foundation has since created tools to support the identities of editors, with CEO Maryana Iskander telling the assemblage that it’s “seeing an summation successful threats, some regularisation and litigation crossed the world,” as reported by 404 Media.