Elon Musk wants what he can’t have: Wikipedia
Today’s must-read: Musk and other right-wing tech figures have been on a campaign to delegitimize the digital encyclopedia. What happens if they succeed?
 

One Story to Read Today highlights a single newly published—or newly relevant—Atlantic story that’s worth your time.

Elon Musk has “gained influence over an astonishing portion of online life,” Lila Shroff writes. But one thing he does not control is Wikipedia.

(Illustration by The Atlantic. Sources: Getty.)

 

A recent target in Elon Musk’s long and eminently tweetable list of grievances: the existence of the world’s most famous encyclopedia. Musk’s latest attack—“Defund Wikipedia until balance is restored!” he posted on X last month—coincided with an update to his own Wikipedia page, one that described the Sieg heil–ish arm movement he’d made during an Inauguration Day speech. “Musk twice extended his right arm towards the crowd in an upward angle,” the entry read at one point. “The gesture was compared to a Nazi salute or fascist salute. Musk denied any meaning behind the gesture.” There was little to be upset about; the Wikipedia page didn’t accuse Musk of making a Sieg heil salute. But that didn’t seem to matter to Musk.

Previous One Story picks:

Sign up for This Week, our editors’ Sunday-evening selection of stories that are sparking conversation right now.

Did someone forward you this newsletter? Sign up here. For full access to our journalism, subscribe to The Atlantic.

Truth. Insight. Ideas.

 

Get unlimited access to rigorous, fact-checked reporting from journalists who still believe the truth matters. Subscribe for less than $2 a week.

Subscribe

This email was sent to np8d8iwsy9@niepodam.pl
You've signed up to receive newsletters from The Atlantic.

If you wish to unsubscribe from The Atlantic newsletters, click here.

To update your email preferences, click here.

The Atlantic Monthly Group LLC · 610 Water Street, SW · Washington, DC 20024