Society Essay of the month

Alert on the ideologization of Wikipedia

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written by Jonas Follonier · September 13, 2025 · 0 comment

Alerte sur l’idéologisation de Wikipédia

The French-language version of Wikipedia is particularly affected by this militant drift. Photo: Le Regard Libre

In their recent book published by Editions du Cerf, Michel Sandrin (not his real name) and Victor Lefebvre document the militant drift of the online encyclopedia. The book also explains how the platform works.

It has become customary to learn about a subject by consulting its Wikipedia entry. Pedants who despise this online encyclopedia as a breeding ground for false information should read La face cachée de Wikipédia («The hidden face of Wikipedia») released in April. Journalist Victor Lefebvre and platform contributor Michel Sandrin (not his real name) report that the platform is reliable overall: «One of the reasons for this structural reliability is simple: Wikipedia is not out to make money, nor to make itself attractive to advertisers, nor to flatter its readership.» What's more, the fact that any changes are checked after they have been made, and that everyone can contribute, optimizes the rapid correction of errors. There is, however, a danger lurking in this remarkable voluntary undertaking to share knowledge: militancy.

The French-language version of Wikipedia, on which this essay focuses, is particularly affected by this drift. It manifests itself in many ways: the creation of files on subjects of no encyclopedic value in order to put them forward, the «rallying» of activists from one's camp to vote for the deletion - or maintenance - of a page, the removal of compromising information about a person one wishes to promote or, conversely, the demonization of an opponent...

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This type of behavior can be observed on both sides of the Atlantic. The case of Eric Zemmour's campaign team, who «smoothed» his Wikipedia entry (since corrected) during the last presidential campaign, is highlighted. With figures and testimonials to back them up, the authors demonstrate that this activism, which runs counter to the platform's principles, is mainly the work of the radical left, and that it results in a double standard:

«If Wikipedia reproduces Release that Laurence Ferrari or Pascal Praud are paragons of the extreme right, why not mention, for example, the criticisms levelled by Values current to Jean-Michel Apathie? The editorialist (...) has never hidden his left-wing allegiance and defines himself as woke. Yet there is no mention of this on his profile.»

At the heart of the problem lies an asymmetrical evaluation of secondary sources, which must systematically support information on Wikipedia. A regular contributor to the online encyclopedia for over ten years sums it up in the book:

«All journalistic sources to the right of the Figaro are considered unreliable and have no right to be quoted (...): this is the consensus of the community. [On the contrary,] a micro-source used by Streetpress or Loopsider will be panned and presented as absolute truth.»

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The same applies to social issues:

«The “Fluiditié du genre” page, for example, refers to “fluidity in children”, presenting without contradiction the ideas of Serge Hefez, a psychiatrist openly in favor of gender transitions in children (...). In contrast, accusations of “moral panic”, “conservative stance” and “misinformation” are reported from the very first lines of the page devoted to L'Observatoire de la petite sirène, a collective of practicing professionals and researchers who intend to “warn childcare professionals about the impact of social networks and militancy”, particularly on issues of gender dysphoria. This time, the association's criticisms occupy more than two-thirds of the page, in clear contradiction to the recommendation concerning the disproportionate importance given to one point of view on the encyclopedia.»

The extent of the problem is illustrated by the fact that the first result of a Google search often refers to the subject's Wikipedia entry, which serves as raw material for artificial intelligences. The authors of La face cachée de Wikipédia («The hidden face of Wikipedia») are nonetheless convinced that the fundamentals of this platform will help curb this trend if they are properly respected. With this didactic book, readers have everything they need to make their own contribution.

Philosopher by training and journalist by profession, Jonas Follonier is the editor-in-chief of Regard Libre. Write to the author: jonas.follonier@leregardlibre.com.