Larry Sanger claims CIA edited Wikipedia and warns media control

Larry Sanger, co‑founder of Wikipedia, said the online encyclopedia has been compromised, asserting that the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency has edited its articles. In an interview with the Berliner Zeitung he stated, “the CIA has already edited Wikipedia,” and warned that powerful interests could use the platform’s anonymity for propaganda.

Sanger also cautioned that major news outlets could gain influence over what appears on Wikipedia, citing proposals that would limit candidate endorsements to those covered by mainstream media. He highlighted the growing use of Wikipedia content for training artificial‑intelligence systems, noting that tools such as the AI‑generated “Grokipedia” have drawn heavily on Wikipedia articles.

These remarks raise concerns about the integrity of a widely used reference source, its role in AI development, and the potential for external actors to shape public information.