CJBDec 25, 2024
Peter Gleick

If you've never donated to Wikipedia, now's the time. Elon Musk is attacking it because it's one of the only sources of honest, curated information that he can't control.

https://www.newsweek.com/elon-musk-takes-aim-wikipedia-fund-raising-editing-political-woke-2005742

Elon Musk takes aim at Wikipedia

Musk has denounced Wikipedia as "Wokepedia" on X and urged people not to donate to the platform.

Newsweek
Dec 25, 2024 at 1:37amWeb
Show threadTuring IncompleteDec 25, 2024
@petergleick I mean, yes, there's bias. Wikipedia writes about reality and reality has a well-known leftist bias.
Show threadbl4x1Dec 25, 2024

@dawngreeter @petergleick Reality has a well known leftist bias? 😂 What's your definition of leftist? And what's your definition of reality?

You remember Trump just won the vote? That right-wing parties are growing in almost all of Europe? That most countries aren't even democracies where something like "leftist" could exist?

Show threadJay 🇺🇦Dec 25, 2024
@bl4x1 @dawngreeter @petergleick That's not what it means.
It's not that political systems have a leftist bias.
It's that rightwing crap like trickle down economics, calling it pro-life to murder women with ectopic pregnancies and letting children suffer hunger, calling an Epstein client who fucked pornstars while his wife was pregnant a family man, making poor people richer with tariff price hikes etc etc clashes with reality a lot.
Whether voters love to be lied to is a different question.
Show threadbl4x1Dec 25, 2024
@Soulshine @dawngreeter @petergleick Then I would say right now if anything "reality" has a "rightist" bias, not a "leftist" bias. Although as you can see from my use of quotes none of these terms is clearly defined or even clearly definable so saying something like this seems a bit pointless to begin with. It doesn't have any real content. But maybe I misunderstood the original post.
Show threadJay 🇺🇦Dec 26, 2024
@bl4x1 @dawngreeter @petergleick
Reality does not relate to political success here.
Reality=vaccines work.
Reality=masks work.
Anyone even mildly left of the vague center accepts these facts.
The right have voted for Trump and RFK Jr.
Show threadbl4x1Dec 26, 2024
@Soulshine @dawngreeter @petergleick That's a very US-centric perspective. But reality is not limited to the US. In many countries the measures against corona were implemented by conservative governments and the interpretation of the effectiveness of these measures was mostly left to scientists. The rise of right-wing and conservative powers in many countries is also part of reality.
Show threadbl4x1Dec 26, 2024
@Soulshine @dawngreeter @petergleick To clarify, what I want to say is, I have a hard time saying "reality has a leftist bias". This might be true if you limit your observation of reality to US-politics. But outside of the US opinions like "masks don't work" are usually left to extremist science deniers, not the established right-wing conservative or liberal parties. There is also no clear definition of the term leftist, especially globally the scale varies strongly.
Show threadTuring IncompleteDec 26, 2024

@bl4x1 @Soulshine @petergleick Some righty staples:

- Being poor means you are a bad person and a pest
- Removing societal support structures will not harm the society
- A given country's past is heavily mythologized
- "Ancient enemies of our people"

And, generally speaking, just look at Ur-Fascism.

Show threadcultdevDec 26, 2024
@dawngreeter @petergleick wikipedia is american lol. there is no real leftism in america
Show threadDebbie Goldsmith 🏳️‍⚧️♾️🇺🇦Dec 25, 2024
@petergleick This is why it's so vital for information services to have servers outside the US at this point in time. I'm so glad mastodon.social is in the EU, and I hope the Wikimedia servers aren't entirely in the US.
Show threadElizabeth AlcinoeDec 25, 2024
@dgoldsmith @petergleick I know.
Show threadMichael BDec 25, 2024
@dgoldsmith @petergleick
The centralized organisarion, with all infrastructure managed by Wikimedia Foundation in the USA, has unfortunately turned out a possible weakness. 😔
Show threadDrahreg01Dec 25, 2024

@dgoldsmith @petergleick

https://mastodon.social/@Drahreg01/113711846278972756

Show threadLudwig VielfrassDec 25, 2024
@dgoldsmith @petergleick if the worst happens in the future, looking into Kiwix or other offline local Wikipedia/Wikimedia apps for desktop and mobile might interest you.
Show threadrastinzaDec 25, 2024
@lerxst @dgoldsmith @petergleick what is the point of an offline wiki?
Show threadcultdevDec 26, 2024
@dgoldsmith @petergleick hopefully they’re smart enough to be duplicating them in the EU right now, if they didn’t already
Show threadVirginia HollowayDec 25, 2024

@petergleick

I just donated. It would be great if Wikipedia came out ahead after this nonsense.

Show threadAlexander DyasDec 25, 2024
@VirginiaHolloway @petergleick Done
Show threadAndrewDec 25, 2024
@VirginiaHolloway @petergleick same!
Show threadmem_somervilleDec 25, 2024

@petergleick Another common thing is for science cranks to try really hard to move Wikipedia. There's a group of science nerds that works on stuff.

It is worth people's time to contribute editing time there--especially if it pisses off the cranks.

Show threadjimmynashDec 25, 2024
@petergleick Just donated from Musk's page on wikipedia.
Show threadideogramDec 25, 2024
@jimmynash
Ha ha, very good.
@petergleick
Show threadSherri W (SyntaxSeed)Dec 25, 2024
@jimmynash @petergleick Same. 😎
Show threadThe Sage GrouseDec 25, 2024
@petergleick Anyone can edit Wikipedia articles. But the MAGAs apparently can't figure out how.
Show threadJörg SeidelDec 25, 2024
@maybeimaleo
They do. They struggle with the obligation to provide sources and only enter truthful statements
@petergleick
Show threadBart SimsonDec 25, 2024

@petergleick I was just watching "The Book Thief", you know, the scene where the nazis have the books burned. And then I see this about Musk. I went straight on and made a donnation. Thank you, Elon, for the reminder.

#wikipedia #musk #elonfuck #nazis

Show threadWaiting On A BusDec 25, 2024
@petergleick I was considering bumping up my regular donation a little bit. Thanks to Elon, I just bumped it up a lot.
Show threadWizard Bear (💉x8 + 😷)Dec 25, 2024
@petergleick I donate every year to Wikipedia, including this one twice. With right-wing billionaires controlling so much of MSM, they stand as a trusted source of curated information. We need them, now more than ever. TY for all you do.
Show threaddon Elías (como los buses) 🥨Dec 25, 2024
@petergleick done!
Show threadthelonglinesDec 25, 2024
@petergleick I can't believe people would point to Wikipedia's budget expenditures as anything other than a good thing.
Show threadMDec 25, 2024
@petergleick yep, donated as requested for a good cause !
Show threadejimDec 25, 2024
@petergleick
I think "attacking" is the wrong word!
I would have expected more active actions, like musk saying they would use grok to "unwoke" the wiki, but in reality he just said that one should not donate to Wikipedia.
Show threadCedar Fen Farm Cedar Fen FarmDec 25, 2024

@petergleick

Donate Here

https://donate.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:LandingPage&country=US&uselang=en&wmf_medium=sidebar&wmf_source=donate&wmf_campaign=en.wikipedia.org&wmf_key=minerva

Make your donation now - Wikimedia Foundation

Donate to the Wikimedia Foundation, the nonprofit that hosts Wikipedia and other crucial free knowledge projects. Each year, the generosity of the 2% of readers who donate allows us to expand the reach of Wikipedia and its sister projects. Our goal is to ensure knowledge remains freely available for generations to come and for that, we need your support.

Show threadtoa5tDec 25, 2024
@petergleick How bad is that plastic surgery.
Show threadLuigi Rosa Dec 25, 2024
@petergleick just donated both to support Wikipedia and to piss off that guy
Show threadRejZoRDec 25, 2024
@petergleick Right, just like Twitter, now X is this bastion of free speech that he was promising so hard and turned it into Naziville of censorship and his own bullshit. Just the usual Elon Musk, overpromising and never delivering.
Show threadakiran_nDec 25, 2024
@petergleick if you find something is usefull, like Wikipedia, Internet archi e, your favorite mastodon instance, your favorite open source software , ecc…., donate a small amount. Don’t hurt paying the equivalent of a coffee every now and then for something you love.
Show threadRachael Ava 💁🏻‍♀️Dec 25, 2024
@petergleick Didn't this fool try to get Wikipedia's name changed to something stupid a year or two ago?
Show threadNewkDec 25, 2024

@petergleick

Donated today. Fuck Musk.

Show threadQuincy ⁂Dec 25, 2024

@petergleick

Heh, now I'm tempted to donate, even *despite* the obnoxious begging banners!

Show threadRenkeSiemsDec 25, 2024

@petergleick You can contribute and fight dumbasses permanently by becoming a member, in Germany for example:

https://www.wikimedia.de/

Wikimedia Deutschland - Wissen muss frei zugänglich sein!

Wikimedia Deutschland ist Teil einer weltweiten Bewegung für Freies Wissen. Wir unterstützen Wikipedia, und entwickeln freie Software.

Wikimedia
Show threadGaMeDec 25, 2024

@petergleick

Reminder to taxpayers in Italy: you can give your 5 per mille to Wikimedia Italia

https://cinquepermille.wikimedia.it/

Home - Destina il tuo 5 per mille a Wikimedia!

Inserisci il Cod. fiscale 94039910156 nella tua Dichiarazione dei Redditi per destinare il 5x1000 alla conoscenza libera.

Destina il tuo 5 per mille a Wikimedia!
Show threadDuncanDec 25, 2024
@petergleick this reminds me of when Frogface Farage, Elmo’s pet uk muppet, took aim at the RNLI (a charity that runs lifeboats around the UK coastline that rescue people in trouble at sea) for *checks notes* daring to save the lives of refugees who would otherwise have drowned trying to cross the English Channel.
IIRC that triggered record donations to the RNLI, I hope Wikipedia receives a similar boost.
I’ve donated now as I did then
Show threadArjen P. de Vries Timmers 🕊️Dec 25, 2024
@petergleick he's worried he'll have to spend more on moderation (on the birdsite) I suppose.
Show threadVigelienschDec 25, 2024
@petergleick
Just donated another 50,-€ with text
FCK
ELN
Show threadjoel_hammarlingDec 25, 2024
@petergleick I'm now a monthly donor!
Show threadDer HakenDec 25, 2024

@petergleick

For the first time in my life I donated to wikipedia and you should too.

https://wikipedia.org/

https://spenden.wikimedia.de/

#wikipedia #musk

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Wikipedia is a free online encyclopedia, created and edited by volunteers around the world and hosted by the Wikimedia Foundation.

Show threadJohannes WirthDec 25, 2024
@petergleick Donation ✅
Show threadxs4me2Dec 25, 2024

@petergleick

I was doing so before the guy even bought Twitter and transformed it into a fascist cesspit…

Knowledge is power.

#wikipedia #gofundit #musk

Show threadhsolerkalinovskiDec 25, 2024
@petergleick Not one of the Only sources of accurate information, just more convenient than many alternatives.
Show threadRandom DootDec 25, 2024
@petergleick I was going to donate anyways but now I'm going monthly. I really want to see a donation spike after this dipshit's post.
Show threadProScience 🇪🇺Dec 25, 2024

@petergleick

We all must destroy—in the sense of "de-empower" = shut out = constrain—Musk from our and from our country's lives.

Show threadKagan MacTane (he/him)Dec 25, 2024
@petergleick That's a wonderfully succinct explanation of his motivation. Kudos!
Show threadcognitively accessible mathDec 25, 2024
@petergleick Or if you have!!! Wouldn't it be AWESOME if the thing that happened when people are told not to donate.... that people do????
Show threadcultdevDec 26, 2024
@petergleick this keen observer bullseyed the real reason https://merveilles.town/@lrhodes/113710660755268488
L. Rhodes (@[email protected])

AI barons like Musk have already extracted all of the value they can get from Wikipedia. Leaving it intact gives people a way to find information without relying on their product. https://www.newsweek.com/elon-musk-takes-aim-wikipedia-fund-raising-editing-political-woke-2005742

Merveilles
Show threadFrançois-OlivierDec 26, 2024
@petergleick just did
Show threadJohan DiederikDec 26, 2024
@petergleick Can’t we do some crowd funding for a silver bean?