A Trump-appointed U.S. attorney is challenging Wikipedia over potential foreign influence and information manipulation, raising concerns about its impact on historical records and AI training data. This accusation comes amidst a broader pattern of right-leaning figures questioning the platform’s neutrality, highlighting the growing politicization of information sources that serve both human readers and artificial intelligence systems.
The big picture: Ed Martin, interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, has accused the Wikimedia Foundation of “allowing foreign actors to manipulate information and spread propaganda to the American public.”
- In a leaked letter, Martin claimed the online encyclopedia permits “information manipulation,” including “the rewriting of key historical events and biographical information of current and previous American leaders.”
- Martin set a May 15, 2025, deadline for Wikipedia to explain steps it’s taking to counter foreign influence on the platform.
Why this matters: Wikipedia serves as a major source of training data for large language models, giving the platform what Martin describes as “the potential to launder information on behalf of foreign actors.”
- The accusations highlight growing concerns about how misinformation on widely-used platforms could propagate through AI systems at scale.
- Wikipedia has previously struggled with performance issues due to the volume of AI bots scraping data from the platform.
The context: Martin was appointed to his position in January 2025 following President Donald Trump’s inauguration.
- The attorney has recently sent similar letters to medical journals, accusing them of partisan political bias on certain issues.
- His letter to Wikipedia cites the Foundation’s tax-exempt status, arguing it must conform to a “reasonable expectation of neutrality, transparency, and accountability.”
What they’re saying: Wikipedia editors have quickly pushed back against Martin’s allegations.
- Molly White, a journalist and Wikipedia editor, characterized the letter as an example of the Trump administration “weaponizing laws to try to silence high-quality independent information.”
The broader pattern: This represents the latest in a series of challenges to Wikipedia from conservative figures.
- Elon Musk shared a post in late 2024 urging users to “Stop donating to Wokepedia,” specifically criticizing the Wikimedia Foundation’s spending on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives.
Recent Stories
DOE fusion roadmap targets 2030s commercial deployment as AI drives $9B investment
The Department of Energy has released a new roadmap targeting commercial-scale fusion power deployment by the mid-2030s, though the plan lacks specific funding commitments and relies on scientific breakthroughs that have eluded researchers for decades. The strategy emphasizes public-private partnerships and positions AI as both a research tool and motivation for developing fusion energy to meet data centers' growing electricity demands. The big picture: The DOE's roadmap aims to "deliver the public infrastructure that supports the fusion private sector scale up in the 2030s," but acknowledges it cannot commit to specific funding levels and remains subject to Congressional appropriations. Why...
Oct 17, 2025Tying it all together: Credo’s purple cables power the $4B AI data center boom
Credo, a Silicon Valley semiconductor company specializing in data center cables and chips, has seen its stock price more than double this year to $143.61, following a 245% surge in 2024. The company's signature purple cables, which cost between $300-$500 each, have become essential infrastructure for AI data centers, positioning Credo to capitalize on the trillion-dollar AI infrastructure expansion as hyperscalers like Amazon, Microsoft, and Elon Musk's xAI rapidly build out massive computing facilities. What you should know: Credo's active electrical cables (AECs) are becoming indispensable for connecting the massive GPU clusters required for AI training and inference. The company...
Oct 17, 2025Vatican launches Latin American AI network for human development
The Vatican hosted a two-day conference bringing together 50 global experts to explore how artificial intelligence can advance peace, social justice, and human development. The event launched the Latin American AI Network for Integral Human Development and established principles for ethical AI governance that prioritize human dignity over technological advancement. What you should know: The Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, the Vatican's research body for social issues, organized the "Digital Rerum Novarum" conference on October 16-17, combining academic research with practical AI applications. Participants included leading experts from MIT, Microsoft, Columbia University, the UN, and major European institutions. The conference...