Elon Musk, the brains behind Tesla and SpaceX, is in the news once more. This time, the topic is not a new business enterprise but rather a lighthearted proposal to Wikipedia. Musk, who is well-known for his frequent tweets, offered a peculiar suggestion. He offered to donate an astounding $1 billion to Wikipedia, but there was a catch: they had to rebrand as “Dickipedia.” Musk, who is known for his ironic humor, said that everything was done for accuracy.
As you can expect, this attracted the attention of Twitter users all across the world. Wikipedia was urged to pursue the idea by a user, and Musk provided an additional twist. They would have to use the name for at least a year, he added, adding sarcastically, “I mean, I’m not a fool lol.”
I will give them a billion dollars if they change their name to Dickipedia https://t.co/wxoHQdRICy
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 22, 2023
Musk even posted a screenshot of Wikipedia’s home page, which featured “a personal appeal from Jimmy Wales” and the statement, “Wikipedia is not for sale.” Given that Wikipedia’s whole text could fit on a smartphone, he questioned why the Wikimedia Foundation needed so much funding. He humorously requested that it be added to his Wikipedia page.
Musk also requested the addition of a cow and excrement emojis to his Wikipedia article. Millions of people watched and liked this lighthearted Twitter conversation.
Some Twitter users expressed caution, pointing out that Wikipedia frequently requests payments and may attempt to collect the $1 billion. Others thought the whole thing was funny, like a “cage match challenge.” Some suggested buying Wikipedia and letting AI handle the changes, and others made jokes about Musk’s typical “rich guy” behavior.
In a similar occasion, Jimmy Wales, the creator of Wikipedia, chastised Musk for blocking Recep Tayyip Erdogan critics soon before a vital election. Wales wasn’t happy that Musk had agreed with Turkey’s demands to censor information. He emphasized that Wikipedia had encountered a like circumstance but had protected free speech, even going to the Supreme Court of Turkey to do so.
The decision is to have Twitter completely throttled or restrict access to specific tweets, Musk said in response. Which do you prefer?
It’s vital to remember that Wikipedia had been prohibited in Turkey for more than two years since the nation’s laws permitted the banning of websites considered to be indecent or a threat to national security.
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