Wikipedia co-founder challenges Elon Musk: Did the US govt pay staff to edit and control content?

Wikipedia co-founder Larry Sanger urged Elon Musk to investigate whether the US government paid employees to edit or influence Wikipedia.

He posted on X, calling for transparency. “If such operations exist, they should be defunded,” Sanger wrote. “If not, we’d like to know.” His demand aligns with Musk’s leadership of the US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which aims to reduce federal spending and curb the fiscal deficit.

Sanger also urged Donald Trump to ban federal employees from editing Wikipedia. He suggested an executive order prohibiting the use of taxpayer money for Wikipedia edits or lobbying efforts.

Sanger, a known conservative, has repeatedly criticized Wikipedia. He claimed the site leans left despite its neutrality policy. In an earlier interview with The Epoch Times, he accused Wikipedia of favoring liberal narratives by excluding conservative news sources.

Musk backed Sanger’s concerns, sharing his interview on X. “Don’t take it from me (I’m just a frog after all), take it from the co-founder of Wikipedia,” Musk posted. He has also mocked Wikipedia in the past, once offering $1 billion if it renamed itself “Dickipedia” for a year.

Wikipedia, founded in 2001 by Sanger and Jimmy Wales, remains one of the world’s most-visited websites. However, debates over bias and government influence continue to spark controversy.