This piece was first published in NPOV.
More than two decades after launching Wikipedia together, Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger have reunited. This time, it’s not so much in partnership but to protest Wikipedia’s take on one of the biggest geopolitical flashpoints today: allegations that Israel committed genocide in Gaza.
In a remarkable Wikipedia moment — the likes of which hasn’t been seen for over a decade — the co-founders of the online encyclopedia have both expressed disappointment with the highly contested article.
This has set off an extraordinary firestorm inside Wikipedia, with one editor telling me the response has been “pandemonium.” They characterize the atmosphere surrounding these events as one of “major fear.”
Things have spiraled so far out of control that Wikipedia editors have referred Wales for disciplinary action in an attempt to have him banned from editing in that space.