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Fact check: Wikipedia is owned by the president of Fandom, and has been aggressive with emailing donators about asking for more donations.
1. Summary of the results
The claim that Wikipedia is owned by the president of Fandom is demonstrably incorrect. Wikipedia is operated by the Wikimedia Foundation, a nonprofit charitable organization [1], while Fandom is a separate, for-profit company [2]. While both entities were founded by Jimmy Wales [3], they operate independently and have different business models and objectives.
2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints
Several important pieces of context are missing from the original statement:
- Fandom is currently owned by TPG Inc., who acquired it in 2018 [3]
- The current CEO of Fandom is Perkins Miller [4]
- While Fandom uses similar software to Wikipedia, it is a commercial wiki hosting service that generates revenue through advertising and sold content [3]
- The Wikimedia Foundation operates with a commitment to free knowledge and transparency [5]
- Both organizations have different operational models: Wikipedia as a nonprofit vs. Fandom as a for-profit entity [2]
3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement
The statement appears to conflate two separate organizations with different missions and ownership structures. This misunderstanding could benefit:
- Commercial wiki platforms like Fandom, who might gain credibility from being associated with Wikipedia's reputation
- Critics of Wikipedia's donation model, who might use this false connection to question the organization's nonprofit status
- Competitors who might benefit from undermining Wikipedia's reputation as an independent, nonprofit organization
The statement's confusion might stem from the historical connection of Jimmy Wales to both organizations [3], but it ignores the fundamental differences in their current ownership structures and missions. The Wikimedia Foundation's status as a nonprofit charitable organization [1] is a crucial fact that directly contradicts the original claim.