Interim US lawyers for Ed Martin, the District of Columbia, have accused the Wikimedia Foundation, the nonprofit organization that runs Wikipedia, of violating its 501(c)(3) tax-free status by thriving propaganda and misinformation from “foreign actors” on the platform.
The Wikimedia Foundation’s tax-free status has been questioned by US lawyers at DC Edward Martin. letter For the organisation on Thursday, Wikipedia is not just a bias, implying that it could be breaking federal law like it was the first It has been reported By the Free Press.
“We have noted that Wikipedia, operating through its financial sponsor, Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., is engaged in a series of activities that may violate its obligations under section 501(c)(c)(3) of title 26 of the US Code.”
As a nonprofit, the Wikimedia Foundation is “subject to certain legal and fiduciary obligations that match tax-exempt status,” says a US attorney for DC. Martin went on to explain that maintaining a tax-free status of 501(c)(3) means that it only means “a test for religious, charity, scientific, public safety, literary, or educational purposes.”
However, the Wikimedia Foundation “allows foreign actors to manipulate information and spread propaganda to the American public,” Martin argued in his letter.
“Wikipedia allows information manipulation on the platform, including rewriting major events and biographies of current and previous American leaders, as well as other issues that imply US national security and national interests,” he continued.
“Masking propaganda that influences public opinion under the guise of providing information is the opposite of Wikimedia’s “education” mission,” Martin added, citing the Wikimedia Foundation’s 2023 IRS Form 990.
Additionally, “Wikipedia’s business is directed by a board of directors, which are primarily made up of foreigners,” Martin said.
The US lawyers for DC also said that popular search engines like Google “agree to prioritizing Wikipedia results,” but if content on the platform is “biased, unreliable or sourced by entities that want to harm the US,” this type of search engine prioritization will only amplify propaganda in American audiences.
Therefore, Martin is asking Wikimedia to answer some of the questions he included in his letter by May 15th, so his office can determine whether the foundation is compliant with US laws relating to tax-free status.
In his 12 questions, Martin asks Wikimedia what mechanisms exist “to protect the public from the spread of propaganda,” and how the foundation ensures “transparency and accountability” regarding the extent to which its practices are affected by its relationship with “donors, sponsors, funders, or other external stakeholders.”
Martin also asks for answers on what steps the Wikimedia Foundation took: “to reconstruct or rewrite history to rule out foreign influence operations from target editing to content categories.”
Alana Mastrangelo is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her Facebook and x at @armestrangeloand on Instagram.
