Elon Musk has made a surprising offer: he’s willing to pay $1 billion if Wikipedia changes its name to “Dickipedia.” This bold proposal comes after Musk criticized Wikipedia for being too biased, especially when it comes to political views. Earlier this year, Musk accused the site of having a left-leaning bias, claiming that it unfairly paints Republicans and people like former President Donald Trump in a bad light. He even suggested that Wikipedia was “broken” and urged people to stop donating to it.
On Tuesday, a user on X (formerly Twitter) reminded Musk of his original offer, and Musk responded by confirming, “True. Offer still stands.” This means he’s serious about the deal. Musk also pointed out that the Wikimedia Foundation, which runs Wikipedia, has been asking for a lot of money. He questioned why the site needed such large amounts when, according to him, it doesn’t actually cost much to run. After all, he argued, you could fit all of Wikipedia’s text on your phone for a small price.
The idea of paying $1 billion for a name change is controversial, but Musk’s frustrations with the site aren’t new. He’s been vocal about his belief that Wikipedia has a political agenda. In fact, earlier this year, he even urged people to stop donating to the site, accusing it of being controlled by far-left activists.
To put things into perspective, Wikipedia’s English version takes up about 51GB of space, but the full version, with all languages and media, weighs around 428TB. Despite this massive size, the Wikimedia Foundation reported over $150 million in revenue last year. But Musk seems to think the site doesn’t need that much money.
Musk’s comments have caught the attention of others too. A study released by the Manhattan Institute, a conservative think tank, claims that Wikipedia’s bias is even affecting artificial intelligence. The study found that AI models using data from Wikipedia tend to associate negative emotions with right-leaning figures and positive emotions with left-leaning ones. Musk’s criticism seems to echo these findings, calling out the site for its perceived political bias.
Meanwhile, Russia is also speaking out against Wikipedia. Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for Russia’s Foreign Ministry, accused the site of presenting a one-sided, Western-centered view of historical and political events. She claimed that Wikipedia often distorts the truth, especially in articles related to Russia.
It’s clear that Musk’s offer to rename Wikipedia to “Dickipedia” is more than just a joke. He’s using it to make a statement about the way the site operates, and it’s sparking debate on whether Wikipedia’s reputation for neutrality is at risk. Could this bold move change the future of the world’s largest online encyclopedia? Only time will tell.
