TL;DR
Wikipedia turned 25 on January 15, 2026, having grown from four pages to more than 65 million articles and billions of monthly views. The project faces several pressures — political attacks, widespread AI scraping, and an aging volunteer base — that observers say threaten its long-term stability.
What happened
Wikipedia celebrated its 25th anniversary on January 15, 2026. Launched in 2001 with just four pages, the site has expanded to more than 65 million articles across more than 300 languages and now draws billions of page views each month. The Wikimedia Foundation marked the milestone with a microsite featuring a commemorative video, a retrospective timeline, a quiz about the future, and merchandise. Despite those achievements, reporting cited by the article warns of mounting risks: some conservative groups have accused the project of ideological bias and have pledged to target volunteer editors; automated bots have scraped Wikipedia content at scale, putting strain on its infrastructure; and the volunteer community — nearly 250,000 contributors by the article’s count — is aging and proving hard to replenish. Commentators quoted in the coverage express concern that cultural shifts on the wider internet may erode the norms that sustained Wikipedia’s noncommercial, volunteer-driven model.
Why it matters
- Wikipedia underpins much of the internet’s accessible knowledge and is a frequent source for journalism, education and AI systems.
- Targeting of volunteer editors could undermine editorial neutrality and the site's ability to self-govern.
- Large-scale automated scraping can increase hosting and bandwidth costs and may degrade service availability.
- A shrinking or aging editor base threatens routine maintenance, fact-checking and the creation of new content.
Key facts
- Wikipedia was founded on January 15, 2001 and began with four pages.
- The site now contains over 65 million articles in more than 300 languages.
- It attracts billions of page views every month (described in the coverage as 'billions of views per month').
- The Wikimedia Foundation produced a 25th-anniversary microsite with a video, historical overview, a quiz and merchandise.
- The article reports nearly 250,000 volunteer contributors who write, edit and fact-check content.
- Some conservative organizations have accused Wikipedia of liberal bias; the Heritage Foundation said it would 'identify and target' volunteer editors.
- Automated AI bots have been scraping Wikipedia content extensively, which the article says has strained the site's servers.
- Observers describe a 'graying' of the volunteer community and difficulty in recruiting new contributors.
- Commentators cited express an existential concern that Wikipedia’s founding norms — neutrality, source evaluation and noncommercial public service — are under pressure.
What to watch next
- Whether the Wikimedia Foundation implements new technical or policy measures to reduce large-scale scraping or to shore up infrastructure — not confirmed in the source.
- Any coordinated campaigns aimed at volunteer editors and how the community or Foundation responds — not confirmed in the source.
- Efforts to recruit and retain younger contributors to address the reported 'graying' of the editor base — not confirmed in the source.
Quick glossary
- Wikimedia Foundation: A nonprofit organization that hosts and supports Wikipedia and related projects.
- Volunteer editor: A contributor who writes, edits and maintains articles on Wikipedia without pay.
- AI scraping: Automated harvesting of website content by bots or systems, often to train machine-learning models.
- Neutrality (in journalism and reference): The principle of presenting information without partisan bias, relying on verifiable sources.
Reader FAQ
When was Wikipedia founded?
January 15, 2001.
How many articles does Wikipedia have?
The article reports more than 65 million articles.
How many volunteer contributors work on Wikipedia?
The coverage cites nearly 250,000 volunteers involved in writing, editing and fact-checking.
Is Wikipedia under coordinated political attack?
The article says some groups on the political right have accused Wikipedia of bias, and it reports the Heritage Foundation stating it would 'identify and target' volunteer editors.
Will Wikipedia survive the threats it faces?
not confirmed in the source
Report: Apple to fine-tune Gemini independently, no Google branding on Siri, more Marcus Mendes Jan 13 2026 BEYOND CUPERTINO WIKIPEDIA Wikipedia turns 25 today but faces more threats than ever…
Sources
- Wikipedia turns 25 today but faces more threats than ever before
- Wikipedia's founder reveals the biggest threats facing the site
- Existential risk from artificial intelligence
- Digital 2025: exploring trends in Wikipedia traffic
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