Wikimedia Names Bernadette Meehan, 50, CEO as Wikipedia Fights Bias Claims, AI Scraping and Repression
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Jul 5
Wikimedia Names Bernadette Meehan, 50, CEO as Wikipedia Fights Bias Claims, AI Scraping and Repression
1 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Jul 5
Summary
Bernadette Meehan took over as Wikimedia Foundation chief executive in January, bringing a diplomatic background as the group confronts what it describes as one of the toughest periods in Wikipedia’s 25-year history.
65 million Wikipedia articles are being heavily scraped by AI companies, while attacks from the MAGA right and Elon Musk have fueled accusations of bias and antisemitism and even challenged the site’s nonprofit status.
Wikimedia has responded by raising its lobbying budget, advertising in Times Square, charging companies including Google and Meta for high-volume use, and throttling some scrapers’ access.
Volunteer editors also face growing pressure from repressive governments, prompting Wikimedia to expand its human rights team to counter harassment, surveillance and retaliation.
One of the world’s 10 most visited websites is now defending not just its platform but its model of neutral, volunteer-built knowledge.