Mark Gagnon

Do you see it as a compliment?

We've seen your former colleague Jimmy Wales, who was recently on a podcast where he was asked a similar question.

This is Larry Sanger, internet pioneer and the co-founder of everybody's first stop in internet research, Wikipedia.

He was there at the very beginning, naming it, shaping it, and watched it explode into tens of thousands of articles in its first year.

But years later, Sanger says something went wrong.

The man who helped build the world's largest encyclopedia now believes that it's quietly shaping how millions think, and not always in the most honest way.

He argues that Wikipedia has drifted from neutrality into framing, bias, and in some cases, even propaganda, where subtle word choices can decide who's right, who's wrong, and what ideas are pushed outside the acceptable conversation.

And today we break down how neutrality is different from objectivity, how Wikipedia articles can quietly manipulate public opinion, who really controls these controversial pages, and why Sanger believes neutrality and free speech rise together and fall together.

So if you are interested in how the media can be manipulated, how information and disinformation actually work, and who is using propaganda in order to manipulate your feelings about global events, this is the episode for you.

So sit back, relax, and welcome to camp.

Larry Sanger, thank you so much for joining me.

Thanks for coming into my tent and for taking an adventure all the way to New York City.

So really quick, just explain to the audience, who are you and what specifically is your concern that you're wanting to talk about today?

Now, you said that pretty easily.

You said, I am the co-founder of Wikipedia.

We've seen your former colleague, Jimmy Wales, who was recently on a podcast where he was asked a similar question.

And he said that he was the founder.

And then the host asked if he was actually the co-founder.

Then he said he didn't care.

And then he walked off.