Time to donate to Wikipedia
“I am still ready to pay Wikipedia $1 billion if it changes its name to Dickipedia,” says Elon Musk.
This makes me so angry. Musk is now virtually in control of the most powerful nation state on the planet, and he wants to buy and fuck up Wikipedia like he did Twitter – just to show he can.
I sent Wikipedia a donation not long ago, but I’ve bumped them some more money today and you should too, if you ever use it. It’s a pathetic gesture in the face of Musk’s billions, but it is what we can do.
MarcG 11:52 on 2024-12-27 Permalink
Thanks for the reminder, Kate. I meant to make a donation yesterday but forgot.
Ian 12:10 on 2024-12-27 Permalink
Let’s see the money first, ol’ Scrooge McDork made similar dick-wagging overtures about other things in the past. In any case, welcome to the new administration – Trump’s sovereignty trolling, Musk’s broligarch shenanigans… the US is now Troll Nation™
EmilyG 12:12 on 2024-12-27 Permalink
I wish Elon Musk would go away.
I hope for a day when global society has reached a point where large parts of humanity aren’t affected by one rich guy’s whims.
Nicholas 12:23 on 2024-12-27 Permalink
Because the Wikimedia Foundation is a non-profit, it doesn’t have a fiduciary duty to sell itself if a very high offer comes along. Real ones remember when he offered the UN $6 billion if it made a plan to solve world hunger, which it did, and then he reneged. They also remember that people who are really secure with themselves and rich really really care about what other people think of them, and sometimes that’s a thing money can’t solve, even if you’re obsessed with it. When you can’t control something so someone, you make fun of it.
Janet 12:54 on 2024-12-27 Permalink
Glad to hear other people donate to Wikipedia too. But then folks on this list are the type of people who care.
dhomas 13:13 on 2024-12-27 Permalink
On Christmas Eve, Elon tweeted that we should stop donating to “Wokepedia” (https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1871443771424116954).
I decided right then and there that I would be donating to Wikipedia.
Seriously, fuck this guy. I used to make excuses for him in the past up until around when Covid hit. Until that point, I thought that, despite his shenanigans (which I considered rich guy eccentricities), he was a net positive on society with his contributions to the popularity of EVs and space exploration. Since then, he has tipped the scales into net negative. He’s really approaching caricature comicbook supervillain status now. He needs to go away. He is the definition of an oligarch at this point. (I really like the “broligarch” term Ian used, actually)
For anyone else donating, keep in mind that donations to Wikimedia Canada are tax deductible: https://www.wikimedia.ca/2021/03/21/wikimedia-canada-receives-charity-status/
EmilyG 21:22 on 2024-12-27 Permalink
Donated.