The Lawfare Podcast Lawfare Daily: Wikipedia, Ref-Working, and the Battle Over Reality
Dec 9, 2025
Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikipedia and author of "The Seven Rules of Trust," dives deep into the challenges facing the platform today. He discusses Wikipedia’s role as a crucial information source amid shifting political landscapes and AI influences. Wales emphasizes the importance of transparency in building trust and shares insights on how Wikipedia combats misinformation and censorship attempts. He highlights the need for high-quality journalism and the dangers of partisan sources, urging the community to engage in and support collaborative knowledge-building.
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Early Wake-Up Call About Real-World Impact
- Jimmy Wales recounts the John Seigenthaler Sr. incident where a false Wikipedia entry led to a scathing USA Today editorial.
- That episode made him realize people were paying attention and that Wikipedia's content mattered publicly.
Transparency Builds Trust
- Jimmy Wales argues that transparency about errors and corrections builds trust more than opaque top-down fact checks.
- Visible debate and correction processes let readers assess credibility for themselves.
Use AI To Augment Editing Work
- Use AI to assist editors with repetitive, scale-heavy tasks like finding dead links and suggesting vetted replacement sources.
- Keep humans in the loop to make final judgments about whether a source actually supports content.
