Does Wikipedia have a political bias?

Jimmy Wales, co-founder of Wikipedia, addressed the issue of whether Wikipedia has a left-leaning political bias in an episode of the Lex Fridman Podcast. He recognizes that while individual entries may show specific biases, he does not believe there is a broad left-leaning bias across Wikipedia. Wales noted that accusations of bias often come from those with fringe viewpoints who are unhappy that their perspectives are not represented as mainstream. Additionally, he pointed out that biases are more likely in obscure or non-political areas. Wales stated that Wikipedia should strive for a balanced perspective, especially in politically controversial topics 1.

Furthermore, Lex Fridman speculated that the personal political leanings of individuals who edit Wikipedia might lean left, similar to engineers in Silicon Valley. He discussed the challenge of creating platforms that are unbiased despite the personal biases of their creators. Fridman believes it is possible to maintain an unbiased platform, emphasizing the importance of diverse perspectives and the role of social media algorithms in shaping public discourse 2.