Tiago Bianchi
Research expert covering internet & gaming in Latin America and Spain
Wikipedia - Statistics & Facts
For over two decades, Wikipedia has been the reference page for the internet, receiving millions of daily visitors to its websites in search of information. With its collective nature and despite little updates to its format, it is one of the most characteristic projects of the World Wide Web’s history and, therefore, shares many of its struggles. With the increasing use of artificial intelligence tools throughout several industries, especially concerning online information and content, the matter of relevance and trust might become the next looming question for the online encyclopedia.
With a workforce of around 700 employees, the foundation amasses a multitude of editors and contributors worldwide in what is called the Wikimedia movement, proving itself extremely successful in raising funds by gathering the highest amount of donations and contributions and net assets ever recorded in its 2023 fiscal year. Notably, most of its financial contributions come from North America and Europe, where its subdomain languages are the most popular.
While some sources suggest that artificial intelligence could help Wikipedia improve its reliability, others point to the direct opposite, as generative AI and machine learning could pose potential threats while fabricating information and jeopardizing the verification processes, whilst downplaying the human component of the website. The urgency of these questions is undeniable and, not by chance, ChatGPT was the most visited Wikipedia article of 2023, ironically showing that even in the ever-changing online landscape, Wikipedia is a go-to portal for understanding even the newest trends.
The encyclopedia
Wikipedia consistently appears among the most visited websites worldwide, being in 2023 the seventh-most visited, and fifth in terms of unique visitors. Unlike most social media or user-generated content platforms, it has not yet hinted into any type of subscription model, being the only website among the ten most visited worldwide led by a nonprofit organization. Each language version is segmented across several subdomains of the Wikipedia.org address, in which English is by far the largest in terms of articles, edited entries, and registered users.The organization
Created in 2003, Wikimedia Foundation was the shift of Wiki-related projects like Wikipedia and Wikitionary, formerly under the umbrella of Jimmy Wales’ for-profit company Bomis, to its collaborative and free-content design. This allowed its initiatives to be funded via its donation process, which now include Commons, Wikibooks, Wikiversity, Wikisource, Meta-wiki, Wikivoyage, Wikinews, Wikiquote, Wikispecies, Wikidata, MediaWiki and Wikifunctions.With a workforce of around 700 employees, the foundation amasses a multitude of editors and contributors worldwide in what is called the Wikimedia movement, proving itself extremely successful in raising funds by gathering the highest amount of donations and contributions and net assets ever recorded in its 2023 fiscal year. Notably, most of its financial contributions come from North America and Europe, where its subdomain languages are the most popular.
Further challenges: relevance and AI
Wikipedia’s informational role for internet users might face new questions with the speed of artificial intelligence adoption throughout several industries, especially when concerning online search for information and knowledge. When not dealing with periodic information disputes from various fronts around the world, or struggling to define its character amidst online safety bills that include user-generated content platforms, concerns about misinformation become inevitable when AI enters the equation.While some sources suggest that artificial intelligence could help Wikipedia improve its reliability, others point to the direct opposite, as generative AI and machine learning could pose potential threats while fabricating information and jeopardizing the verification processes, whilst downplaying the human component of the website. The urgency of these questions is undeniable and, not by chance, ChatGPT was the most visited Wikipedia article of 2023, ironically showing that even in the ever-changing online landscape, Wikipedia is a go-to portal for understanding even the newest trends.
