Ted Cruz Targets Wikipedia Over ‘Ideological Bias’

The Wikimedia Foundation provided a connection erstwhile contacted by Ars Monday.

"We tin corroborate receipt of a missive from Senator Ted Cruz," nan connection said. "Wikipedia is supported by strong safeguards and high-quality unpaid oversight; it is simply a surviving encyclopedia that is ever improving. We invited nan opportunity to further amended policymakers connected nan important activity of Wikipedia, and nan Wikimedia Foundation stands by its unwavering committedness to protect editors' workout of free expression. Through rigorous policies, editorial standards, personification privateness protections, and transparent processes, astir 260,000 volunteers person created complete 65 cardinal articles successful 300 languages. Wikipedia seeks to inform, not persuade."

Cruz Pressures Wikipedia After Criticizing FCC Chair

Cruz sent nan missive astir 2 weeks aft criticizing Federal Communications Commission president Brendan Carr for threatening ABC pinch position licence revocations complete governmental contented connected Jimmy Kimmel’s show. Cruz said that utilizing nan authorities to dictate what nan media tin opportunity "will extremity up bad for conservatives" because erstwhile Democrats are backmost successful power, "they will soundlessness us, they will usage this power, and they will usage it ruthlessly." Cruz said that Carr threatening ABC was for illustration "a mafioso coming into a barroom going, 'Nice barroom you person here, it'd beryllium a shame if thing happened to it.'"

Cruz, who chairs nan Senate Commerce Committee, doesn't mind utilizing his authority to unit Wikipedia's operator, however. "The Standing Rules of nan Senate assistance nan Committee connected Commerce, Science, and Transportation jurisdiction complete communications, including online accusation platforms," he wrote to nan Wikimedia Foundation. "As nan Chairman of nan Committee, I petition that you supply written responses to nan questions below, arsenic good arsenic requested documents, nary later than October 17, 2025, and successful accordance pinch nan attached instructions."

We asked Cruz's agency to explicate why a legislator pressuring Wikipedia is due while an FCC chair pressuring ABC is not and will update this article if we get a response.

Among different requests, Cruz asked for "documents capable to show what supervision, oversight, aliases influence, if any, nan Wikimedia Foundation has complete nan editing community," and "documents capable to show really nan Wikimedia Foundation addresses governmental aliases ideological bias."

Cruz has separately been launching investigations into nan Biden management for alleged censorship. He issued a report allegedly "revealing really nan Biden management transformed nan Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) into an supplier of censorship pressuring Big Tech to constabulary speech," and scheduled a hearing for Wednesday titled, "Shut Your App: How Uncle Sam Jawboned Big Tech Into Silencing Americans."

Cruz's missive to Wikimedia seeks grounds that could fig into his ongoing investigations into nan Biden administration. "Provide immoderate and each documents and communications—including emails, texts, aliases different integer messages—between immoderate officer, employee, aliases supplier of nan Wikimedia Foundation and immoderate officer, employee, aliases supplier of nan national authorities since January 1, 2020," nan missive said.

This communicative primitively appeared on Ars Technica.