Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Sunday, Aug 24, 2025

Elon Musk blasts Wikipedia after it suspends edits of ‘recession’ page

Elon Musk blasts Wikipedia after it suspends edits of ‘recession’ page

Elon Musk hit out at Wikipedia on Friday for "losing its objectivity" after the online encyclopedia blocked users from editing its "recession" page.

Elon Musk slammed Wikipedia on Friday for “losing its objectivity” after the online encyclopedia blocked users from editing its “recession” page — prompting accusations that it was running interference for the Biden administration.

Musk, the Tesla CEO and the world’s richest person with an estimated net worth of $263 billion, tagged Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales in a tweet on Friday.

“Wikipedia is losing its objectivity,” Musk tweeted.

Wikipedia blocked users from revising its “recession” page after visitors to the site engaged in a frantic editing war over the definition of the term, which is being disputed by the Biden administration following the latest economic data showing a drop in GDP.

One Wikipedia user known as “Soibangla” edited the “recession” page to remove reference to the standard definition of the term.

The user added a line that read: “There is no global consensus on the definition of a recession.”


As of Friday morning, the page included a lock icon in the upper right corner indicating that it was placed in “semi-protection” mode whereby “unregistered users … as well as accounts [that] are not confirmed or autoconfirmed” would not be able to make changes to the text.

“Wikipedia changed the definition of recession to favor the Biden regime, and then locked the page,” tweeted right-leaning social media personality Mike Cernovich.

“Can’t make Biden look bad before the midterm elections!” tweeted another Twitter user.

Elon Musk took Wikipedia to task on Friday for “losing its objectivity.”


The change comes after dozens of people flocked to the page to make edits to the entry. They were most likely spurred by Thursday’s Commerce Department report indicating that the country’s GDP fell by 0.9%.

This is the second consecutive quarter that the national economy has contracted — which meets the traditional definition of a recession.

But the Biden administration has insisted that the economy is not in a recession. The president and his aides have steadfastly refused to use the word in briefings to reporters.

“This is not an economy that’s in recession,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday.

“But we’re in a period of transition in which growth is slowing and that’s necessary and appropriate and we need to be growing at a steady and sustainable pace.”

Wikipedia prevented users from editing its entry on “recession.”

Dozens of users engaged in an editing war, prompting the site to restrict editing to registered visitors.

Jimmy Wales, Wikipedia’s co-founder, has been accused of stifling free speech.

President Biden has denied that the economy is in recession despite two straight quarters of negative GDP growth.


Whether the US is technically in a recession is a determination that is usually made by the National Bureau of Economic Research, which is a private, nonprofit research organization based in Cambridge, Mass.

The NBER bills itself as an apolitical group that is “committed to undertaking and disseminating unbiased economic research among public policymakers, business professionals, and the academic community.”

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has also refused to say that the country is in a recession.


The Post has sought comment from Wikipedia.

“Semi-protection is useful when there is a significant amount of disruption or vandalism from new or unregistered users, or to prevent sockpuppets of blocked or banned users from editing, especially when it occurs on biographies of living persons who have had a recent high level of media interest,” according to the Wikipedia page.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
High-Stakes Trump-Putin Summit on Ukraine Underway in Alaska
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
×