SAN FRANCISCO — Wikipedia has launched a new page addressing the controversial topic of former President Donald Trump and fascism, as part of ongoing efforts to provide comprehensive coverage of prominent political debates. The page, titled “Donald Trump and fascism,” discusses varying academic and political viewpoints on whether Trump, the current Republican candidate in the 2024 U.S. presidential election, aligns with the historical definition of fascism.
The page went live on Tuesday, coinciding with a banner message urging readers to contribute to Wikipedia’s fundraising efforts. The Wikimedia Foundation, the nonprofit behind the site, emphasized the urgency of their appeal, stating, “We ask you to join the 2% of readers who give. If everyone reading this right now gave just $2.75, we’d hit our goal in a couple of hours.”
“Wikimedia is broken,” said billionaire Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.
The newly launched entry outlines criticisms from historians and scholars, as well as survey results indicating that nearly half of registered voters perceive Trump as embodying fascist traits. According to an October 2024 poll by ABC News and Ipsos, 49% of voters described Trump as a “political extremist who seeks to act as a dictator, disregards individual rights and threatens or uses force against their opponents.”
The page also provides historical context for fascism, including definitions and references to authoritarian figures like Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler. It notes the complexity of the term, citing George Orwell’s criticism that “fascist” is often used as an empty insult rather than an analytical descriptor.
This addition to Wikipedia arrives as the Wikimedia Foundation faces ongoing financial pressures. As part of its annual fundraising drive, the platform has been displaying donation messages on its pages, reminding readers that Wikipedia remains a nonprofit and cannot be sold. The campaign urges users to consider small contributions to keep the platform running, highlighting that only 2% of readers typically donate.
Wikipedia’s appeal states that even small donations are crucial to maintaining free access to its content, which “powers so much of the internet.” As the election season unfolds and the public engages with politically charged content, the site’s neutrality and survival remain central to its mission.
