Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company, xAI, on Monday launched Grokipedia, a new online encyclopedia positioned as a rival to Wikipedia, which the billionaire has repeatedly accused of political and ideological bias.
The debut version, dubbed “Grokipedia 0.1,” already hosted over 885,000 articles by Monday evening—far fewer than Wikipedia’s 7 million-plus English entries, but presented by Musk as the beginning of a new, “truth-oriented” era in online knowledge sharing.
“The goal of Grok and Grokipedia.com is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. We will never be perfect, but we shall nonetheless strive towards that goal,” Elon Musk posted on X (formerly Twitter)
Musk said a full version 1.0 of Grokipedia is in the works, promising it would be “10 times better” than the current site and “already better than Wikipedia.” The release, originally scheduled for late September, was postponed, Musk explained, to “purge out the propaganda.”
A Long-Running Feud with Wikipedia
Musk has frequently criticized Wikipedia and its parent body, the Wikimedia Foundation, claiming the platform is dominated by “far-left activists.” In 2024, he urged users to stop donating to it, calling the site “unreliable” and “politically skewed.”
Earlier this year, he argued that Wikipedia should not be used as a source for X’s fact-checking feature, Community Notes, citing what he described as “extreme left-bias” in its editorial controls.
AI-Generated Content, Grok-Integrated Platform
Grokipedia’s entries are generated by artificial intelligence, largely using xAI’s generative assistant Grok, which is integrated into Musk’s social platform, X.
A Grokipedia article about Musk portrays him as a figure who has “influenced broader debates on technological progress, demographic decline, and institutional biases,” while noting “criticism from legacy media outlets that exhibit systemic left-leaning tilts.”
Wikimedia Responds: “We’re Still Human”
The Wikimedia Foundation, which oversees Wikipedia, responded cautiously to the launch. A spokesperson told AFP that Wikimedia is still “in the process of understanding how Grokipedia works,” adding:
“Wikipedia’s strengths are clear: it has transparent policies, rigorous volunteer oversight, and a strong culture of continuous improvement.”
The foundation emphasized that Wikipedia remains human-driven, contrasting it with AI-based content generation. “This human-created knowledge is what AI companies rely on to generate content; even Grokipedia needs Wikipedia to exist,” the spokesperson said.
Early Praise from Right-Wing Figures
Grokipedia’s launch drew support from some right-leaning commentators. Russian political theorist Alexander Dugin praised the platform, calling his Grokipedia entry “neutral, objective, accurate,” and claiming his Wikipedia biography was “totally biased and defamatory.”
Despite early skepticism, Musk’s move underscores his broader ambition to challenge established digital institutions and reshape how knowledge is created and shared online.
Source: AFP
