Inside Elon Musk’s Ksh129B offer to rename Wikipedia to Dickipedia
Billionaire Elon Musk now says his USD1 billion (Ksh129 billion) offer for Wikipedia to change its name to Dickipedia still stands.
The offer was floated in 2023 as the tech enthusiast made fun of Wikipedia’s request for donation from users.
“I will give them a billion dollars if they change their name to Dickipedia,” Musk wrote on October 22, 2023.
Musk doubted Wikimedia’s use of funds donated to it after it emerged that 29 per cent of Wikipedia’s $177 million budget for 2023-24 was allocated to equity, safety and inclusion.
“Stop donating to Wokepedia until they restore balance to their editing authority,” Musk said.
“Have you ever wondered why the Wikimedia Foundation wants so much money? It certainly isn’t needed to operate Wikipedia. You can literally fit a copy of the entire text on your phone! So, what’s the money for? Inquiring minds want to know,” he added in another post on X on October 22, 2023.
Musk was responding to claims by Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales, who said that Musk had made it difficult for internet users to differentiate fake journalists from real ones after making the blue checkmark for sale.
“Fast moving claims and counter claims, and @elonmusk has removed all the core features that made it even remotely possible to tell real journalists from fakes,” Wales stated on October 18, 2023.
“Wikipedians are not journalists. And it isn’t about whether someone “calls themself” a journalist. It’s that institutional affiliation being faked (as it was tonight) is a bad thing for knowledge and understanding. I’m sure you agree, right?”
In response, Musk asked Wales to “fix wokipedia”, leading to the online exchange that led to the offer.
“I wonder if you care to respond to my specific criticism. The other night, a blue tick account pretending to be an Al Jazeera reporter had significant success spreading misinformation. It is now more difficult, thanks to the removal of legacy blue ticks, to identify such fraud,” Wales responded to Musk.
The brawl seems not to have ended, after an X user asked Musk whether the offer is still on.
“Does this offer still stand @elonmusk?” the user, John’s Memes, posed.
In response, Musk, On February 17, 2025, stated, “Offer still stands. Come on, do it.”
