call of musk "refund" Wikipedia compared to Nazi salute after his gesture

The gesture was controversial enough, but now the subpoenas have arrived: Elon Musk is trolling Wikipedia and encouraging its defense after details of his recent flourish were seen by some as a Hitler salute , appeared on the encyclopedia website.

The battle pits two of the internet’s most famous tech giants against each other – and highlights the starkly different ethos behind Musk’s X social media site and Wikipedia, founded by American entrepreneur Jimmy Wales.

Musk, as majority owner of X, is behind the recent easing of content moderation rules that have allowed massive disinformation on his social media platforms, as well as positioning himself as President Donald Trump’s right-hand man. Is established as.

While Musk’s hostility toward Wikipedia may be outwardly focused on hand gestures, Wikipedia’s goal of factual neutrality makes it a natural rival to X, a platform that has become a hotbed of increasingly heated culture wars, hate speech, and disinformation. Is becoming synonymous.

Wikipedia and the media at large – which Musk has consistently criticized – also threaten to hold him accountable as he pushes himself into the center of American politics.

In a December interview with New York magazine’s Intelligencer, Wells said that Wikipedia’s goal is for editors to create content that is “candid and accepting of diverse viewpoints” even as “divisive sentiments, biases, culture Even amid the “escalation of wars”. He.”

Currently, the site is generally considered reliable despite being written by a community of volunteers.

The rift between Musk and Wells began when the billionaire took issue with his posture at Trump’s inauguration on Monday.

Thanking the crowd for bringing Trump back to the White House, Musk patted the left side of Trump’s chest with his right hand and then extended his hand with his palm open. Then he turned to the crowd behind him and did the same again.

As of Wednesday, the episode is mentioned on Musk’s biographical Wikipedia page as well as on the “Nazi salute” page.

‘Defund’ Wikipedia

On Tuesday, Musk reposted what appeared to be part of that Wikipedia entry, although as of Wednesday the wording was slightly different from what was found on Wikipedia.

The reposted text reads: “In his speech during Trump’s second inauguration, Musk twice raised his right hand upward toward the crowd. The gesture was compared to a Nazi salute or a fascist salute. Musk Denied any meaning behind this gesture.”

Along with the repost, Musk attacked both Wikipedia and the news media, another favorite target, suggesting that each is a purveyor of disinformation.

“Since legacy media propaganda is considered a ‘legitimate’ source by Wikipedia, it naturally becomes an extension of legacy media propaganda!” Musk wrote.

Additionally he called on his supporters to “defame” Wikipedia.

“I think Elon is unhappy that Wikipedia is not for sale,” Wells said, trolling Musk for buying X for $44 billion in 2022.

Run by the nonprofit Wikimedia Foundation, Wikipedia occupies an isolated place in today’s Internet landscape, dominated by the likes of Google and Meta—instead it is reminiscent of the early, idealistic days of the web when the open-source movement brought together volunteers. Provide free access to tools and knowledge.

Wells asked Musk if “there was anything in that description that you felt was wrong?” And said it was not propaganda but “fact. Every element of it.”

‘Trying to be clear’

Established on January 15, 2001, the Wikipedia website began in English but within two months was launched in German and Swedish. It is now available in hundreds of languages.

“I would say the decline in trust in journalism and politics has been quite severe, resulting, in some cases, in making people feel more angry and lost,” Wells told the Intelligencer.

But among the Wikipedia community, he said, “we just turn away, try to be neutral, try to be clear.”

Following Musk’s 2022 purchase of Twitter, which rebranded as Promoted as a way to connect.

But researchers say the easing of guardrails on

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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