Wikipedia’s Grift to Fund Parasitic Wikimedia Foundation

Despite the popular notion that Wikipedia is a free, open-source encyclopedia for everyone, recent reports have revealed a startling truth. It turns out that Wikipedia has 10 times more money than it needs and very little of that goes towards improving the encyclopedia itself. Even worse, none of this money goes to the authors who are responsible for creating the content. Instead, it is being used as a grift to fund the ever growing parasitic Wikimedia Foundation. The lack of funding for authors is particularly concerning as these people are essential in keeping Wikipedia up-to-date with current information and trends. Without proper compensation or recognition, many authors may be discouraged from continuing their work on the platform which could lead to an overall decrease in quality content available on Wikipedia. Furthermore, much of this excess money is being funneled into the Wikimedia Foundation which many argue does not benefit anyone but themselves. The foundation was created in 2003 with a mission “to empower and engage people around the world to collect and develop educational content under a free license or in the public domain” yet critics argue that they have done nothing but line their own pockets with donations from unsuspecting users who believe they are helping support an important cause. This news comes at a time when there is already much controversy surrounding online platforms such as Wikipedia and their role in providing accurate information about topics ranging from politics to science. With no incentive for authors to continue contributing quality content, it remains unclear how long this platform will remain relevant given its reliance on volunteers for its success.