Ed Martin, a temporary attorney in Washington, D.C., has sent a letter to the Wikimedia Foundation—the group behind Wikipedia—questioning whether it should still be considered a nonprofit organization.
The letter, obtained by The Free Press, claims that Wikipedia might be breaking U.S. laws that apply to tax-exempt nonprofits.
According to U.S. law, nonprofit groups must focus only on things like education, science, religion, or public safety. But Martin says Wikipedia is allowing people from other countries to change facts, rewrite history, and spread propaganda, which could go against those rules. He also says this could be a risk to U.S. national security.
Martin is known for sending strong legal letters to media outlets. Recently, he also sent similar complaints to major science and medical journals, accusing them of being politically biased.
In the letter to Wikimedia, Martin asks what the organization is doing to stop propaganda and prevent foreign users from editing important topics. He wants answers by May 15.
In response, Jacob Rogers, a lawyer for Wikimedia, said in a statement to The Verge that Wikipedia has strict rules to keep content fair and accurate. These include making sure information is neutral, backed by sources, and not an original opinion. He added that nearly 260,000 volunteers help monitor the site and that everything is done openly.
This isn’t the first time Wikipedia has been criticized by right-wing voices. Last year, Elon Musk called it “Wokepedia” and told people to stop donating to it. In January, a report showed that a conservative group, The Heritage Foundation, created slides to try and influence Wikipedia editors.
Because of these growing pressures, the Wikimedia Foundation is working to protect its volunteers. CEO Maryana Iskander said that threats and legal pressure are increasing around the world.
