‘Information manipulation’: Trump DOJ goes after Wikipedia for ‘information manipulation’ and threatens nonprofit status, accuses it of boosting ‘foreign powers’

President Donald Trump‘s apical authoritative successful Washington, D.C., has sent a missive to the nonprofit down Wikipedia — the escaped online encyclopedia “anyone tin edit,” according to the website — accusing it of “masking propaganda that influences nationalist opinion” and “permitting accusation manipulation” successful payment of “foreign powers,” the missive says.

Ed Martin, who is the president’s nominee to oversee the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, wrote that the Justice Department would beryllium probing the “content manipulation” to spot if Wikimedia Foundation was “engaging successful a bid of activities” that could interruption its “obligations nether Section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code,” which is what yet gives the enactment its quality to run arsenic a nonprofit exempt from paying taxes.

“Wikipedia is permitting accusation manipulation connected its platform, including the rewriting of key, humanities events and biographical accusation of existent and erstwhile American leaders, arsenic good arsenic different matters implicating the nationalist information and the interests of the United States,” Martin alleged.

“Masking propaganda that influences nationalist sentiment nether the guise of providing informational worldly is antithetical to Wikimedia’s ‘educational’ mission,” the interim U.S. lawyer said. “In addition, Wikipedia’s operations are directed by its committee that is composed chiefly of overseas nationals, subverting the interests of American taxpayers. Again, acquisition contented is directionally neutral; but accusation received by my Office demonstrates that Wikipedia’s informational absorption policies payment overseas powers.”

The letter, which was archetypal reported by The Free Press connected Friday, brought up issues that person been raised precocious by different organizations, including the Anti-Defamation League, which accused Wikipedia of being an online transmission for “widespread antisemitic and anti-Israel bias” successful March.

“Wikipedia is 1 of the past places online that shows the committedness of the internet, lodging much than 65 cardinal articles written to inform, not persuade,” the Wikimedia Foundation told The Washington Post successful a connection Friday, declining to code the Martin missive specifically. “Our imaginativeness is simply a satellite successful which each azygous quality tin freely stock successful the sum of each knowledge,” the nonprofit added.

Wikipedia has been criticized by radical — including Trump state and unofficial DOGE person Elon Musk — arsenic of precocious for allowing what galore person perceived to beryllium “woke” accusation astir existent events and topics to beryllium edited in.

“Stop donating to Wokepedia,” Musk posted connected X successful December 2024.

Wikipedia exertion Molly White told The Post she viewed Martin’s missive arsenic the Trump medication “weaponizing laws to effort to soundlessness high-quality autarkic information.”

White wrote connected X, “Not to archer anyone however to bash their jobs oregon thing but if one was a US lawyer one mightiness not constitute full letters laying retired however one was targeting nonprofits specifically for archetypal amendment protected activities.”

Attempts by Law&Crime to scope the DOJ and Wikimedia Foundation for remark connected Sunday were not instantly successful.

Love existent crime? Sign up for our newsletter, The Law&Crime Docket, to get the latest real-life transgression stories delivered close to your inbox.