American Thought Leaders How Wikipedia Turned Into an ‘Engine of Defamation’ | Co-Founder Larry Sanger
Oct 15, 2025
Larry Sanger, co-founder of Wikipedia, discusses the platform's shift from neutrality to bias, highlighting its systemic distortion and source blacklisting. He critiques the reliance on secondary over primary sources and proposes nine reform theses, including restoring neutrality and enabling competing articles. Sanger addresses the influence of leftist ideology and outlines potential paths for reform, including public pressure and congressional action. He raises concerns about Wikipedia’s anonymity and argues for legal remedies to combat defamation.
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Wikipedia Mirrored Mainstream Media Bias
- Larry Sanger argues Wikipedia adopted mainstream media biases and abandoned true neutrality after Trump era shifts.
- He says the neutrality policy was rewritten to prohibit "false balance," forcing articles to favor dominant views.
Source Blacklist Shapes Articles
- Sanger explains Wikipedia uses a "perennial sources" list that functions as a blacklist, disallowing many right-leaning outlets as citations.
- He says outlets colored red or yellow cannot be used except in narrow circumstances, shaping article narratives.
Philip Roth's Wikipedia Dispute
- Philip Roth contacted Sanger after Wikipedia misattributed origins of a character and contested The New York Times' speculation.
- Roth then wrote about the issue in a magazine, which Wikipedia used as a secondary source instead of primary evidence.
