Wikipedia has been accused of favoring left-leaning media sources while almost completely blacklisting major conservative outlets, according to a new report by the Media Research Center (MRC) released Monday.
The report reveals the self-proclaimed online encyclopedia disproportionately dismisses right-leaning news organizations as unreliable while granting credibility to liberal sources.
Wikipedia, one of the world's most widely used online information sources, faces scrutiny over claims of political bias in its treatment of news organizations.
The MRC report stated that "Wikipedia effectively blocks 100% of right-leaning media sources — the ones more likely to give fair treatment to the majority in Congress as well as to incoming officials to the Trump administration. On the contrary, only 16% of left-wing media sources fail to win Wikipedia's stamp of approval."
The report assessed how Wikipedia categorizes news sources, finding that conservative outlets such as Breitbart, The Daily Caller, Newsmax, One America News Network, and the Media Research Center are labeled as "generally unreliable" or effectively blacklisted.
Luis Cornelio, the report's author, expressed concern over the implications of these classifications.
"Among the effectively blackballed media sources are Breitbart, The Daily Caller, Daily Mail, Newsmax, OANN, and the Media Research Center. Meanwhile, leftist media like The Atlantic, Jacobin, Mother Jones, ProPublica, The Guardian, and National Public Radio are given the green light," he wrote.
"This blatant misinformation means that Wikipedia is purposely feeding Americans information exclusively through the lens of one side of the political spectrum — the left."
Cornelio and Dan Schneider, vice president of MRC Free Speech America, further argued in an article for The Daily Wire that Wikipedia's sourcing policies distort political narratives.
"This imbalanced treatment is intentional and tactical. It is a deliberate effort to exclude right-of-center perspectives from the online discourse, with the obvious goal of disparaging, slandering, and maligning anyone who opposes the radical left agenda," they wrote.
The report also claimed that Wikipedia's editorial decisions impact on how political figures are portrayed.
It alleged that Wikipedia pages for President Donald Trump's appointees and other conservative figures are shaped primarily by left-leaning media, resulting in negative portrayals.
In contrast, Democrat figures receive more favorable coverage.
"This manipulation of information extends beyond just blacklisting certain sources — it actively distorts political narratives," Cornelio and Schneider wrote.
"Due to the systemic bias in Wikipedia's sourcing policies, the pages on Trump's appointees are overwhelmingly shaped by left-leaning media, presenting a skewed, and often hostile, portrayal of these individuals. The same treatment is not applied to Democratic figures, whose pages benefit from friendlier coverage and selective omission of controversies."
Wikipedia has not publicly responded to the report's findings.
The online encyclopedia claims to operate as a collaborative platform with volunteer editors responsible for content moderation.
Its policies emphasize reliance on reputable sources, but debates about which outlets meet that standard have long been a point of contention.
Conservatives have long bemoaned that Wikipedia is nothing less than a political organization masquerading as a not-for-profit organization.