It’s been 25 years since the launch of Wikipedia on January 15th, 2001, and it’s come a long way from housing just 100 pages to becoming a behemoth of online knowledge with more than 65 million articles that get almost 15 billion views each month.
To celebrate, the Wikimedia Foundation — the nonprofit that backs Wikipedia — is releasing brief clips that highlight eight of its editors from across the globe. Some of the featured editors include “Hurricane Hank,” who joined Wikipedia in 2005 and contributed to the Hurricane Katrina page, along with Netha, an Indian doctor and experienced Wikipedia editor who used her knowledge to combat misinformation on the site during the covid pandemic.
The mini docuseries also highlights Joanne from the UK, who took it upon herself to create the Wikipedia page for Eloise Butler — the creator of the first public wildflower garden in the US — after hearing about her on Instagram. Another volunteer, Gabe, aims to ensure historic Black figures are represented properly and accurately on the site. The videos put a human face to some of the information seen across Wikipedia, something that’s become more important with the prevalence of AI.
The Wikimedia Foundation has launched a digital “time capsule” as well, which includes an audio recording from Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales and revisits notable moments in the site’s history, including when its servers nearly crashed after people flooded the site following Michael Jackson’s death in 2009. You can “sign” a digital birthday card, too, and watch a birthday event livestream on Thursday at 11AM ET.
Though it’s currently facing threats posed by politicians accusing the site of bias, Wikipedia is still going strong, with over 1.5 billion unique devices accessing the site each month. “Against all odds, Wikipedia has grown to become the backbone of knowledge on the internet today,” Wales says in a statement. “Wikipedia demonstrates 25 years of humanity at its best, proving that when people come together in the spirit of building trust and collaboration, they can make the impossible possible.”
