During the fiscal period of 2022-2023, the Wikimedia Foundation, a nonprofit organization responsible for Wikipedia, allocated a significant sum of money to various activist groups. These groups aim to align the content of the online encyclopedia more closely with views that are generally considered to be left-of-center, as revealed by tax documentation.
Despite frequent appeals to its readership about the risk of losing its autonomy without their financial support, the Wikimedia Foundation was in a position to offer financial grants to various organizations. These organizations are committed to infusing Wikipedia articles with feminist and racial justice perspectives, from July 2022 through June 2023. This move has sparked debate, considering Wikipedia’s co-founder highlighted a “liberal bias on most topics” back in 2010.
Heather Mac Donald, a Thomas W. Smith fellow at the Manhattan Institute, commented to the Daily Caller News Foundation, saying, “Feminism and racial justice are not neutral points of view; they are deeply political takes on the world that entail screening out contrary facts. If Wikipedia is actively trying to boost its feminist/racial justice content, it is guaranteeing that its entries will be one-sided, if not wholly inaccurate. The site is also betraying its original mission of anonymous, blind writing and editing, a mission that proved problematic for its leftist creators from the start.”
One recipient of the Wikimedia Foundation’s generosity was Art+Feminism. This organization received around $382,000 “to support work to further [its] mission,” as stated in tax documents. Art+Feminism’s website outlines its goal to “dismantle supremacist systems and create pathways for everyone to participate in writing (and righting) history.” It encourages a collaborative effort to teach individuals of all gender identities how to contribute to Wikipedia, focusing on addressing gender biases in biographical articles.
Art+Feminism’s efforts have led to the creation or editing of over 100,000 articles since 2014, including initiatives to enhance Wikipedia’s coverage of LGBTQ+ biographies and abortion-related content.
Michael Watson, research director at the Capital Research Center, expressed little surprise at these developments, noting, “I’m not surprised that Wikimedia’s liberal-left leadership would do everything in its power to drive left-wing narratives into Wikipedia communities.”
Despite these initiatives to incorporate racial justice and feminism into its platform, studies have already identified a liberal tilt in Wikipedia’s content. Harvard Business School research in 2016 showed a notable liberal bias in articles related to abortion, civil rights, government, and taxes. Further analysis by David Rozado in 2024 found a tendency to cast right-of-center public figures in a more negative light compared to those aligned with the left.
Another organization benefiting from the Wikimedia Foundation’s support, Whose Knowledge, received around $200,000. This group aims to “decolonize the internet” by prioritizing the knowledge of marginalized communities. Recent projects include highlighting queer feminist knowledge from Bosnia and Herzegovina and addressing clashes between indigenous knowledge and Wikipedia’s standards.
Black Lunch Table, focusing on black artists, also received substantial support from the Wikimedia Foundation, amounting to over $300,000. This initiative seeks to enhance Wikipedia’s coverage of black artists, who are often underrepresented in the contemporary art scene.
Maryana Iskander, the CEO of the Wikimedia Foundation, who has a background in left-of-center philanthropy, including a previous role at the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, did not respond to inquiries for comment.
