Embed Notice

HTML Code

<blockquote style="position: relative; padding-left: 55px;"><section><a href="https://hachyderm.io/users/molly0xfff/statuses/113761403967744917">Molly White (molly0xfff@hachyderm.io)'s status on Friday, 03-Jan-2025 08:41:12 JST</a><a href="https://hachyderm.io/@molly0xfff" title="molly0xfff@hachyderm.io"><img src="https://gnusocial.jp/avatar/34789-48-20230824095227.webp" width="48" height="48" alt="Molly White" style="position: absolute; left: 0; top: 0;">Molly White</a><div><a href="https://hachyderm.io/@molly0xfff/113761400134284903" rel="in-reply-to">in reply to</a></div></section><article><p>Attacks on Wikipedia from Musk and his allies aren't just about an online encyclopedia — they're part of a broader assault on any information source that refuses to be controlled.</p><p><a href="https://hachyderm.io/tags/Wikipedia" rel="tag">#Wikipedia</a> <a href="https://hachyderm.io/tags/ElonMusk" rel="tag">#ElonMusk</a> <a href="https://hachyderm.io/tags/USpolitics" rel="tag">#USpolitics</a> <a href="https://hachyderm.io/tags/USpol" rel="tag">#USpol</a></p></article><footer><a rel="bookmark" href="https://gnusocial.jp/conversation/4303146#notice-8412310">In conversation</a><time datetime="2025-01-03T08:41:12+09:00" title="Friday, 03-Jan-2025 08:41:12 JST">Friday, 03-Jan-2025 08:41:12 JST</time> <span>from <span><a href="https://hachyderm.io/@molly0xfff/113761403967744917" rel="external" title="Sent from hachyderm.io via ActivityPub">hachyderm.io</a></span></span><a href="https://hachyderm.io/@molly0xfff/113761403967744917">permalink</a><h4>Attachments</h4><ol><li><label><a rel="external" href="https://gnusocial.jp/attachment/3831557">The escalating attacks on Wikipedia from Elon Musk and other powerful figures on the American right follow a familiar pattern. First come the claims of bias, supported by cherry-picked or misrepresented examples. Then the demands for “balance”, which in practice mean giving equal weight to fringe views or demonstrably false claims. When these demands are refused, the attacks shift to the platform's legitimacy itself: its funding, its governance, its leaders, and its very right to exist as an independent entity.We've seen this playbook deployed against traditional media, with Trump labeling unfavorable coverage “fake news” while promoting outlets that parrot his claims. We've seen it in academia, where “viewpoint diversity” is weaponized to demand equal time for climate change denial or historical revisionism. And we've seen it in social media, where Musk himself spent $44 billion to seize control of Twitter after claiming it was biased against conservative views.</a></label><br><a href="https://media.hachyderm.io/media_attachments/files/113/761/402/553/114/959/original/ef826ee92e58fd06.png" rel="external">https://media.hachyderm.io/media_attachments/files/113/761/402/553/114/959/original/ef826ee92e58fd06.png</a></li><li><label><a rel="external" href="https://gnusocial.jp/attachment/3831558">Wikipedia’s resilience to these tactics makes it both a model and a target. The very features that Musk and others criticize — its decentralized editing model, rigorous sourcing requirements, and nonprofit status — are what have allowed it to remain one of the internet’s most trusted resources. But these same features make it an obstacle to those who seek to control the narrative.Wikipedia faces real challenges: its relatively small editing community and difficulties attracting new editors, threats from AI-generated content,m and regulatory proposals that could restrict its functioning or threaten members of its editing community.m.
Among them: decaying sourcing, the introduction of poor quality LLM-generated content into articles, and the reduced visibility of Wikipedia as people use LLMs trained on the site instead of the site itself.But as other information sources fall to acquisition, intimidation, or other pressure, Wikipedia’s stubborn independence becomes more vital than ever. The attacks from Musk and his allies aren't just about an online encyclopedia — they're part of a broader assault on any information source that refuses to be controlled.</a></label><br><a href="https://media.hachyderm.io/media_attachments/files/113/761/402/560/062/579/original/49fc7aec036e7a82.png" rel="external">https://media.hachyderm.io/media_attachments/files/113/761/402/560/062/579/original/49fc7aec036e7a82.png</a></li></ol></footer></blockquote>

Corresponding Notice

Embed this notice
Molly White (molly0xfff@hachyderm.io)'s status on Friday, 03-Jan-2025 08:41:12 JST Molly White
in reply to
Attacks on Wikipedia from Musk and his allies aren't just about an online encyclopedia — they're part of a broader assault on any information source that refuses to be controlled.
#Wikipedia #ElonMusk #USpolitics #USpol
In conversationFriday, 03-Jan-2025 08:41:12 JST from hachyderm.iopermalink
Attachments
1. The escalating attacks on Wikipedia from Elon Musk and other powerful figures on the American right follow a familiar pattern. First come the claims of bias, supported by cherry-picked or misrepresented examples. Then the demands for “balance”, which in practice mean giving equal weight to fringe views or demonstrably false claims. When these demands are refused, the attacks shift to the platform's legitimacy itself: its funding, its governance, its leaders, and its very right to exist as an independent entity. We've seen this playbook deployed against traditional media, with Trump labeling unfavorable coverage “fake news” while promoting outlets that parrot his claims. We've seen it in academia, where “viewpoint diversity” is weaponized to demand equal time for climate change denial or historical revisionism. And we've seen it in social media, where Musk himself spent $44 billion to seize control of Twitter after claiming it was biased against conservative views.
  https://media.hachyderm.io/media_attachments/files/113/761/402/553/114/959/original/ef826ee92e58fd06.png
2. Wikipedia’s resilience to these tactics makes it both a model and a target. The very features that Musk and others criticize — its decentralized editing model, rigorous sourcing requirements, and nonprofit status — are what have allowed it to remain one of the internet’s most trusted resources. But these same features make it an obstacle to those who seek to control the narrative. Wikipedia faces real challenges: its relatively small editing community and difficulties attracting new editors, threats from AI-generated content,m and regulatory proposals that could restrict its functioning or threaten members of its editing community. m. Among them: decaying sourcing, the introduction of poor quality LLM-generated content into articles, and the reduced visibility of Wikipedia as people use LLMs trained on the site instead of the site itself. But as other information sources fall to acquisition, intimidation, or other pressure, Wikipedia’s stubborn independence becomes more vital than ever. The attacks from Musk and his allies aren't just about an online encyclopedia — they're part of a broader assault on any information source that refuses to be controlled.
  https://media.hachyderm.io/media_attachments/files/113/761/402/560/062/579/original/49fc7aec036e7a82.png

Public

Embed Notice

HTML Code

Corresponding Notice