LISBON — Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales slammed X, formerly often called Twitter, after its takeover by Elon Musk, saying the social media service is losing users and has been “overrun by trolls and lunatics.”
The comments proceed a disagreement between the 2 high-profile technology figures that goes back to last yr.
Responding to an issue about what Musk’s $44 billion acquisition of Twitter means for the social media landscape, Wales responded on Tuesday: “It’s an enormous problem.”
“I feel a number of persons are fleeing Twitter, a number of thoughtful and serious persons are fleeing Twitter,” Wales told CNBC on the Web Summit tech conference in Lisbon.
“Twitter was, and now I assume X form of is, in a way, the default public square for the world. And if it’s being overrun by trolls and lunatics, it is not good for any of us.”
X didn’t reply to a request for comment when contacted by CNBC. Research from analytics firm Similarweb shows engagement metrics are down for X in comparison with last yr.
Wales’ comments come after Musk offered Wikipedia $1 billion if it changes its name to “Dickipedia.”
The spat between the 2 goes back to last yr when Musk alleged Wikipedia has “a non-trivial left-wing bias.” That was in response to Wikipedia editors debating whether to remove the platform’s entry on the Twitter Files. These are a set of files Musk said support claims that the corporate’s prior management handled content moderation in a way that was biased against conservatives.
Wikipedia didn’t find yourself deleting the entry. Wikipedia relies on a community of volunteers to maintain its content updated.
“I mean, he’s had a disagreement with me, I just ignore him. So I didn’t really reply to that,” Wales said, referring to Musk’s $1 billion dollar offer for a reputation change.
“What he refers to as censorship, we consult with as thoughtful editorial judgement, which is a really different matter. So, you recognize, Elon will likely be Elon.”
Earlier this yr, Wales launched his answer to X, called Trust Cafe. Wales described it as a “pilot project” with the aim of making a “community of trustworthy people.”
Wales said he’s attempting to built a platform that has “content based on its trustworthiness fairly than its viral likability.” It isn’t ad supported but fairly based on voluntary membership.
“It’s got to be a extremely quality experience, something that they feel enhances their lives,” Wales said, explaining how he plans to get people to pay for the service.
Trust Cafe allows people to post X-style posts and others to comment. You’ll be able to seek for posts by topic comparable to technology or world news. “I do not know if I’ve got the answers, but I’m trying,” Wales admitted with regard to Trust Cafe.
