Credited from: SCMP
Elon Musk has launched Grokipedia, an AI-driven online encyclopedia, aiming to serve as a conservative alternative to Wikipedia, which he describes as having a "woke" bias. The platform, backed by Musk's company xAI, debuted on October 27 and has over 885,000 articles compared to Wikipedia’s vast collection of over 7 million. Musk stated that Grokipedia, in its version 0.1, is designed to improve upon Wikipedia significantly, declaring it "better than Wikipedia" and promising a "10X better" version in the future, according to aa, lemonde, and scmp.
Musk’s criticism of Wikipedia has been long-standing, often asserting that it is influenced by far-left activists. He and allies have pushed for a platform that reflects their viewpoints more accurately. Notably, Musk described Wikipedia as “Wokipedia” and argued that it is riddled with ideological bias, a sentiment echoed by his supporters and other conservative figures. This ideological stance forms one of the core justifications for Grokipedia's creation, highlighting an ongoing battle between competing narratives on social media, according to scmp and thehill.
The launch of Grokipedia also came after Musk stated that he would delay its release to "purge out the propaganda," further emphasizing the project's intent to counter what he perceives as misinformation on established platforms. Critics have noted that many articles already show signs of bias, particularly those concerning Musk himself and other conservative figures. For example, Grokipedia's portrayal of Musk omits several controversies associated with him, raising concerns over editorial integrity, according to aa and thehill.
In response to Grokipedia’s launch, the Wikimedia Foundation reaffirmed its commitment to transparency and reliability in information dissemination, emphasizing that its collaborative model is essential for maintaining balanced knowledge distribution. A spokesperson for Wikimedia stated, “Wikipedia cannot be persuaded,” detailing how volunteer oversight plays a critical role in its operations, thereby opposing Musk's narrative regarding Wikipedia's supposed bias. This conflicting perspective highlights the challenges faced by alternative platforms like Grokipedia in maintaining credibility, according to scmp and thehill.