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Discrimination against cryptocurrencies? Cardano founder criticizes Wikipedia for bias and threatens legal action

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Discrimination against cryptocurrencies? Cardano founder criticizes Wikipedia for bias and threatens legal action

Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson uploaded a video on YouTube this week expressing his dissatisfaction with what he perceives as subjective censorship on Wikipedia. He claims the site is biased against cryptocurrencies, especially Cardano, and even threatens legal action over the matter.

Cardano Community Edits Removed

The first controversy raised by Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson was regarding the "Proof of Stake" page on Wikipedia. Hoskinson claimed that the information on Wikipedia's Proof of Stake page was severely outdated. When some Cardano community members attempted to edit the page to include a summary of Ouroboros (Cardano's consensus algorithm), they were immediately removed by Wikipedia volunteers. Hoskinson commented:

"This is another example of the potential dangers that exist in the industry, where people trust seemingly open things, but in reality, this content is controlled by a biased and irresponsible few."

Among the few individuals mentioned by Hoskinson is Wikipedia editor David Gerard. Apart from Cardano, other cryptocurrency projects like Decred have also complained about Gerard impeding their presence on Wikipedia.

However, Gerard is not the only editor who holds opinions on the Ouroboros consensus mechanism. In recent days, three other Wikipedia reviewers have successively removed pages written by Cardano community members on the Ouroboros consensus mechanism, citing that the content was not neutral. One of the reviewers, Bonade, stated:

"The proposed content is almost blatantly non-neutral, with terms like 'diligent research,' 'innovative features,' and 'has earned a reputation' which are inappropriate on Wikipedia."

Subjective Bias Towards Cardano?

Hoskinson pointed out that this is not the first time Wikipedia editors have removed content related to Cardano. There used to be a dedicated Cardano page, which was removed from the platform by Wikipedia editors in November 2018.

Hoskinson claims that the decisions made by the editors are unfounded and hostile. The editor David Gerard, who was named, responded to Hoskinson's post, stating that he holds no bias against Cardano but that Cardano has consistently ignored his standards for articles.

"This has happened before in 2016, 'please' read the guidelines I've written. I've been trying to guide you for four years, whether you choose to follow is up to you."

Cryptocurrency Media Not a Reliable Source of Information

Since 2001, Wikipedia has had clear standards for article content, requiring articles to have "significant coverage in reliable sources that are independent of the subject." Reliable sources include mainstream media and professional academic reports. Gerard stated:

"The way for cryptocurrencies to have articles on Wikipedia is to have significant coverage in 'high-quality mainstream sources,' not in 'cryptocurrency media.'"

Gerard pointed out that cryptocurrency media cannot be considered reliable sources because their purpose is to promote their industry, leading to biased reporting. Cryptocurrency projects are seen as 'endless spammers' who release false news and collude with cryptocurrency media to boost token prices, which is a common occurrence for them.

Unacceptable Claims

However, Hoskinson is not satisfied with this claim. He believes that other top 20 cryptocurrencies have dedicated pages on Wikipedia. Despite Cardano being mentioned multiple times by prominent sources like the U.S. Congress, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Financial Times, for "some reason," Cardano is not allowed to have its own page on the platform.

Furthermore, following the release of the video by Hoskinson, a surge of Cardano community members tried to edit the "Proof of Stake" page on Wikipedia. Gerard has since placed the "Proof of Stake" page under "extended confirmed" protection. This means that from now on, only those who have been on Wikipedia for at least 30 days and have made 500 edits are eligible to edit the article.

Further Reading

  • Economist ranks the most progressive countries in 2019, will collaborate with Cardano to promote blockchain applications
  • Cardano Founder: We will beat Facebook in emerging markets

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