Jimmy Wales Will Never Edit Donald Trump’s Wikipedia Page: ‘You Make Me Crazy’
Jimmy Wales for Wikipedia has been called the last decent tech baron. It sounds like a flattering label, although I tend to associate it more with the meats of the boatmen who feed their herds of domesticated macadamia nuts; the kind of person who was recently found wining and dining with the President of the United States and his band of MAGA sycophants.
Wales, on the other hand, keep things to a minimum. Even though the site he founded, Wikipedia, turns 25 this month, he seems more interested in fixing home Wi-Fi than joining the power games of the tech elite. He has also spent the last few months promoting a new book, The Seven Laws of Trustusing Wikipedia’s wide-ranging strategy and unexpected ascendancy to explain Wales’ playbook for fixing many of the broken pieces in today’s deeply divided and oppositional society.
In this week’s episode of The Big Interview, Wales and I discussed what it means to build something that is used by billions of people and is not designed for growth in every way. During our conversation he reflected on Wikipedia’s filth, human origins, the ways governments from Russia to Saudi Arabia are targeting it, and the challenges of holding a neutral line in an online ecosystem that opposes the idea that facts exist. We also talked about what’s threatening Wikipedia now, from AI to billionaire conspiracies, and why it would never edit an article about Donald Trump. Read our full interview below.
This interview is edited for length and clarity.
KATIE DRUMMOND: Jimmy Wales, welcome to The Big Interview. Thank you so much for being here.
JIMMY WALES: Thank you for being with me.
We always start these discussions with a few quick questions, as a warm-up for your mind. Are you ready?
Yes.
What internet rabbit hole have you fallen down lately?
Domestic Helper. I just started using Home Assistant for my smart home devices, and there’s a great community and tons of things to learn about and so on. That’s what I’m passionate about.
What is this community doing?
To solve the problem. People are working on extensions to deal with all kinds of things in the world, and it’s amazing.
What topic are you no longer arguing about online?
I can say that I am not against anyone on trans issues. It’s not there at all. It is very toxic. I never argue about it, but I don’t talk about it.
You will just stay.
Yes, it’s not very exciting.
What do you trust more: Wikipedia or ChatGPT?
Definitely Wikipedia.
I had to ask. What is your favorite non-Wikipedia website or app?
I really like parts of Reddit. There are really good communities on Reddit, and good people. I lurk and read on the personal finance subreddit. There are just a lot of really nice people there. I am always amazed by it.
Reddit really has a moment. I find that I spend a lot of time hiding in the Reddit app on my phone, because I’d rather read thoughtful discussions than scroll through X.
That’s exactly it. It’s like a layered space.
And often people who really think. What is the best thing about living in the UK compared to the US?
Well, my family is here. I always say this about the US: Tech is in Silicon Valley, and politics is in Washington, and movies and showbiz are in LA, and finance is in New York. But all those things are in London.
So if I lived in Silicon Valley, I would only have tech friends because they are the ones who live there. Although in London, it is very wide. All kinds of people. So I love that.
