Background on Elon Musk and His Criticisms of Wikipedia
Elon Musk, the world’s wealthiest individual, has been a frequent critic of Wikipedia. In 2024, he accused the platform of being “controlled by far-left activists” and urged supporters to stop donating. He also claimed in August that Wikipedia cannot be used as a definitive source due to its “extreme left-leaning editorial bias.”
Introduction of Grokipedia by xAI, Musk’s Company
Musk’s company, xAI, unveiled Grokipedia to challenge Wikipedia. The platform’s version 0.1 contained over 885,000 articles as of Monday night, compared to Wikipedia’s more than seven million English entries.
In a post on his social media platform, X, Musk promised an improved version 1.0 that he claimed would be “10 times better” than the current site, asserting it’s already “better than Wikipedia.”
Grokipedia’s Mission and Content Generation
Grokipedia aims for “truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth,” Musk stated on X. He emphasized that while they may not be perfect, the new encyclopedia strives for this goal. The platform is free and accessible, similar to Wikipedia.
Grokipedia’s content is generated by Grok, an AI-based chatbot integrated with X. An article about Musk on Grokipedia highlights his influence in public discourse, which has earned him criticism from traditional media with a systematic leftward bias.
Wikipedia’s Response and Comparison
Created in 2001, Wikipedia is a collaborative encyclopedia managed by volunteers and financed mainly through donations. Users can write or edit its pages.
A Wikimedia Foundation spokesperson, in response to AFP’s query, said they are still trying to understand how Grokipedia functions. The spokesperson, Gwadamirai Majange, highlighted Wikipedia’s transparent policies, rigorous volunteer oversight, and commitment to continuous improvement as its strengths.
Wikipedia aims to inform “thousands of millions of readers” without promoting a particular viewpoint, according to Majange.
Reactions from the Right and Wikipedia’s Stance
Grokipedia’s launch was celebrated by several right-wing personalities, including Russian ultra-nationalist Alexander Dugin. He described his Grokipedia article as “neutral,” “objective,” and “fair” in contrast to Wikipedia’s allegedly “totally biased” and “defamatory” portrayal.
However, Majange from Wikimedia pointed out that human-created knowledge on Wikipedia serves as the foundation for AI content generation. “Even Grokipedia relies on Wikipedia to exist,” she stated.
Key Questions and Answers
- What is Grokipedia? Grokipedia is a new encyclopedia platform launched by Elon Musk’s company, xAI, to compete with Wikipedia.
- Why did Elon Musk create Grokipedia? Musk claims Wikipedia has a left-leaning ideological bias and aims to provide an unbiased alternative with Grokipedia.
- How does Grokipedia generate content? The platform’s content is generated by Grok, an AI-based chatbot integrated with Musk’s social media platform, X.
- What is Wikipedia’s response to Grokipedia? A Wikimedia Foundation spokesperson stated they are still trying to understand Grokipedia’s functioning, emphasizing Wikipedia’s transparent policies and commitment to continuous improvement.
- How do right-wing personalities view Grokipedia? Some right-wing figures, like Alexander Dugin, have praised Grokipedia for its perceived neutrality compared to Wikipedia.
- What is the relationship between Grokipedia and Wikipedia? Despite their competition, Grokipedia relies on Wikipedia’s human-created knowledge for content generation.
