Jimmy Wales, the co-founder of Wikipedia, has publicly intervened in a heated editorial dispute over the platform’s article on the “Gaza genocide,” raising concerns that the page violates the free online encyclopedia’s fundamental principle of neutrality. Wales’s intervention – accusing the article of taking sides in a major controversy – is in line with the long-standing criticism from Elon Musk, who have often claimed the platform has a political bias.

In an update posted to the article’s discussion page (via The National), Wales called the page a “particularly egregious” example of a neutrality issue. His primary concern centred on the article’s lead paragraph, which currently states, in Wikipedia’s own voice: “The Gaza genocide is the ongoing, intentional, and systematic destruction of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip carried out by Israel during the Gaza war.”Wales argued that this phrasing is a clear violation of Wikipedia’s core policy requiring neutrality and attribution for contested claims.“At present, the lede and the overall presentation state, in Wikipedia’s voice, that Israel is committing genocide, although that claim is highly contested,” Wales wrote, adding, “This policy is non-negotiable, and the principles upon which it is based cannot be superseded by other policies or guidelines, nor by editor consensus.”He revealed that he had been asked about the article in a “high profile” media interview and had responded that it “fails to meet our high standards and needs immediate attention.”

This comes as popular figures, such as Tesla CEO Elon Musk, have publicly criticised Wikipedia, alleging a significant left-wing and ideological bias. Last year, Musk said that the platform is “controlled by far-left activists” and called on the public to stop donating.“Wikipedia is controlled by far-left activists. People should stop donating to them,” Musk said. In 2023, he intensified his attacks, offering $1 billion to rename the site to “Dickipedia” and accusing it of having a “non-trivial left-wing bias.”Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales responded to Musk’s remarks with apparent indifference: “I mean, he’s had a war of words with me; I just ignore him. So I didn’t really respond to that.”