This Day Wikipedia Saves The Internet [2025 Favorite]
Dec 28, 2025
Garrett Graff, a historian and journalist, discusses the transformative moment when Wikipedia became a nonprofit. He explains how this decision shaped the site’s growth and community-driven success against giants like Encarta and Britannica. The conversation delves into the challenges of academic skepticism towards Wikipedia, the influence of algorithms on information consumption, and how online radicalization took root. Lastly, Graff introduces his new series focusing on the internet's evolution and the looming threats posed by AI to trust in information.
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The Wiki Pivot That Created Wikipedia
- Jimmy Wales switched Newpedia to an editable wiki and watched the wiki version grow within days.
- That quick pivot birthed Wikipedia and showed user edits could outpace expert peer review.
User Contribution Outsmarted Corporate Power
- Wikipedia beat corporate encyclopedias by harnessing volunteer contributors rather than selling a packaged product.
- Its success foretold how user-generated content could outcompete big incumbents.
Start With Wikipedia, Then Verify Sources
- Use Wikipedia as a starting point and follow its footnotes to original sources.
- Cross-check references rather than citing Wikipedia as a final academic source.