this post was submitted on 02 Jun 2025
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[Migrated, see pinned post] Casual Conversation
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I’ve heard some of the money goes to questionable people
Yeah but Elon Musk hates them so they get my money.
Unfortunately, you'd still be donating to rich people. I've elaborated in another comment: https://europe.pub/post/1056976/1290065
I remember seeing about it in a show from the German public broadcast which presents their journalistic work in a satirical way.
In short: People who do the actual work on wikipedia (writing articles, admins, moderators) do not get paid. The Wikimedia Foundation (WMF), an NGO from America, gets the donation money. Managers in that NGO are rich and earn a lot of money every year. They don't need the donation money to run the website. With the money available to them right now, they could host Wikipedia (with its high traffic) for many more years.
I didn't find the episode of the show, unfortunately, but many articles covering it.
Here's one I think sums it up well: https://unherd.com/newsroom/the-next-time-wikipedia-asks-for-a-donation-ignore-it/
Here's a thread on Hacker News with more links and comments: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34106982
I recommend doing some research yourself. There are many articles on various websites. Search for "wikipedia donation scam" or something similar.
They fund interesting projects anyways. It's not like all donations go into managers pockets. But yes it is something to keep in mind for sure.
Being able to run a site without donations for years without any incoming donations is a great thing, but years isn't really that long, and what would happen when that money ran out? There would be a last minute funding push for a company with a proven record of financial malpractice, who would want to donate to it then?
You're right that the editors don't get money, but they do get a reputable unbiased platform that they can share their knowledge on, and for many people that's more than enough. (Source: Wikipedia, Reddit, Lemmy)
There's always someone out there who will say that about anything. And there are always questionable people who would take advantage of others charity. Don't let that stop you from trying to spread good.
It's sad but the actual people spreading the good don't see a penny. I've elaborated in another comment: https://europe.pub/post/1056976/1290065