Can we still trust Wikipedia?

At a time when trust in US media has hit historic lows, the crowdsourced encyclopedia remains one of the most visited websites in the world. But that trust didn’t happen by accident—and it isn’t guaranteed.

From a notorious 2005 hoax that falsely linked a journalist to the JFK assassination to today’s fierce debates over how Wikipedia covers Gaza, Bremmer explains the platform’s central paradox. Anyone can edit it, which makes it vulnerable to abuse—but that same openness is what allows the community to correct itself. Wikipedia doesn’t aim to decide who’s right. It aims to describe the debate.

The problem comes when that line blurs. As political polarization deepens and AI reshapes how information is created and consumed, Bremmer asks whether Wikipedia can maintain its neutral voice—or whether even the internet’s most trusted reference point risks losing the consensus that made it indispensable in the first place.