I created latest Wikipedia language edition, the Toki Pona Wikipedia, last month. Unlike most other wikis which start their lives in the Wikimedia Incubator before the full wiki is created, in this case the community had been using a completely external MediaWiki site to build the wiki before it was approved as a "proper" Wikipedia wiki,¹ and now that external wiki needed to be imported to the newly created Wikimedia-hosted wiki. (As far as I'm aware, the last and previously only time an external wiki has been imported to a Wikimedia project was in 2013 when Wikitravel was forked as Wikivoyage.)

Creating a Wikimedia wiki these days is actually pretty straightforward, at least when compared to what it used to be like a couple of years ago. Today the process mostly involves using a script to generate two configuration changes, one to add the basic configuration for a wiki to operate and an another to add the wiki to the list of all wikis that exist, and then running a script to create the wiki database in between of deploying those two configuration changes. And then you wait half an hour while the script to tell all Wikidata client wikis about the new wiki runs on one wiki at a time.

The primary technical challenge in importing a third-party wiki is that there's no SUL making sure that a single username maps to the same account on both wikis. This means that the usual strategy of using the functionality I wrote in CentralAuth to manually create local accounts can't be used as is, and so we needed to come up with a new way of matching everyone's contributions to their existing Wikimedia accounts.

(Side note: While the user-facing interface tries to present a single "global" user account that can be used on all public Wikimedia wikis, in reality the account management layer in CentralAuth is mostly just a glue layer to link together individual "local" accounts on each wiki that the user has ever visited. These local accounts have independent user ID numbers — for example I am user #35938993 on the English Wikipedia but #4 on the new Toki Pona Wikipedia — and are what most of MediaWiki code interacts with except for a few features specifically designed with cross-wiki usage in mind. This distinction is also still very much present and visible in the various administrative and anti-abuse workflows.)

The approach we ended up choosing was to re-write the dump file before importing, so that a hypothetical account called $Name would be turned $Name~wikipesija.org after the import.² We also created empty user accounts that would take ownership of the edits to be imported so that we could use the standard account management tools on them later on. MediaWiki supports importing contributions without a local account to attribute them to, but it doesn't seem to be possible to convert an imported actor³ to a regular user later on which we wanted to keep, even with the minor downside of creating a few hundred users that'll likely never get touched again later.

We also made specific decisions to add the username suffix to everyone, not to just those names that'd conflicted with existing SUL accounts, and to deal with renaming users that wanted their contributions linked to an existing SUL account only after the import. This both reduced complexity and thus risk from the import phase, which already had much more unknowns compared to the rest of the process, but also were much better options ethically as well: suffixing all names meant we would not imply that those people chose to be Wikimedians with those specific usernames (when in reality it was us choosing to import those edits to the Wikimedia universe), and doing renames using the standard MediaWiki account management tooling meant that it produced the normal public log entries that all other MediaWiki administrative actions create.

With all of the edits imported, the major only thing remaining was doing those merges I mentioned earlier to attribute imported edits to people's existing SUL accounts. Thankfully, the local account -based system makes it actually pretty simple. Usually CentralAuth prevents individual renaming local accounts that are attached to a global account, but that check can be bypassed with a maintenance script or a privileged enough account. Renaming the user automatically detached the user from the previous global account, after which an another maintenance script can be used to attach the user to the correct global account.

Every day, thousands of people open a browser tab, log in to a Wikimedia project, and quietly do something generous. They fix a typo, translate a paragraph, review a new page, mentor a newcomer, or improve a template that nobody sees but everyone uses. On International Volunteer Day, it’s worth pausing to name this for what it’s: one of the largest, most sustained volunteer efforts in the history of the web.

Wikipedia is often described as a website or a product. In practice, it’s a volunteer community that happens to publish an encyclopedia, and that community sits at the heart of the broader Wikimedia movement. The pages, policies, templates, gadgets, tools, and events that define our ecosystem all exist because someone, somewhere, chose to give their time without expecting payment. Volunteering matters in many places, but in Wikimedia projects it has a very specific role. There is no editorial office that assigns stories, no central newsroom that approves which knowledge is worth documenting. Volunteer contributors decide what gets written, translated, illustrated, and maintained. That decision making is distributed across language communities, projects, and affiliate groups.

This has clear effects on the content that people see every day. When a local group of editors starts a project to improve coverage of women scientists, regional history, or minority languages, the world’s largest encyclopedia becomes slightly less biased. When patrollers revert vandalism or clean up spam, readers experience Wikipedia as more reliable. When volunteer developers maintain bots, gadgets, or tools, they make it easier for others to keep contributing.

Volunteering is not only about edits on wikis. Movement governance committees, affiliate boards, grant reviewers, organizers of contests and edit-a-thons, trainers at workshops, and members of bodies like the Product and Technology Advisory Council all act on a volunteer or volunteer-like basis. Their decisions influence how resources are distributed, which projects are supported, and how safe and welcoming our spaces feel. Being a volunteer is not only about giving something up. Many Wikimedians describe how their work on the projects has shaped their skills and lives. They learn to write clearly, evaluate sources, collaborate across cultures, and resolve disagreements in public. They pick up technical skills, from using templates and Lua to contributing patches in Phabricator or maintaining tools on Toolforge.

There is also a less visible benefit. Editing a page or organizing a local meetup connects individual effort to a global outcome. A small fix on a frequently viewed article can improve the experience of thousands of readers. A well designed program at a university or library can introduce new contributors who keep editing long after the event ends. This sense of impact, even from small actions, keeps many volunteers coming back.

The Wikimedia movement is built on a simple idea:

when many people share small pieces of work, it becomes possible to create and maintain something too large for any single institution.

Volunteer effort makes this real.

It’s visible in content quality, where constant incremental improvement has more effect than any single large rewrite. It appears in diversity, where volunteers from different regions and backgrounds gradually push the projects to reflect more of the world. It underpins resilience, since no single organization controls all the work or all the infrastructure. If one group pauses, others can continue. Volunteer contributions also influence how the movement responds to change. When new technologies appear, from mobile editing to structured data to machine learning tools, it’s often volunteers who first experiment, build prototypes, and point out risks. When policies about privacy, access to knowledge, or online safety shift in different countries, it’s volunteers who explain local context and advocate for readers and editors.

International Volunteer Day is a convenient moment, not only to say thank you, but also to make the invisible more visible. That can mean highlighting local projects, telling the story of a campaign or event, writing about lessons learned, or simply checking in with contributors who usually work quietly in the background. For people who are already active, this day can be an invitation to reflect on what kind of volunteering feels most meaningful and sustainable. For people who read but do not yet edit, it can be a gentle doorway into trying a first small contribution, joining a local event, or connecting with an affiliate or user group.

The Wikimedia vision says that every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. That vision only moves closer to reality because volunteers keep showing up, in many languages and many roles, and turn that sentence into everyday practice.

On 2 November, we organised a photo walk with the Istanbul Medipol University Wiki Club to document the multi-layered history of Beyoğlu, the heart of Istanbul. This event was more than just a tour; but a collaobraite effort of the community to contribute the architectural heritage of a neighbourhood where different faiths have coexisted for centuries to the free knowledge ecosystem. w

Hagia Triada Church, Istanbul

After gathering at a café in the courtyard of Taksim Mosque, our first stop of the day was the Hagia Triada Greek Orthodox Church, rising at the end of Istiklal Avenue. Its marble domes, stained-glass windows and the quiet of its courtyard opened the door to a completely different world just steps away from Istiklal’s constant buzz. This eclectic structure, blending multiple architectural styles, reminded us that not only faiths but also architectural traditins are intertwined. Here, participants listened to the church’s history here and photographed its detailds in the the midday light

St. Antuan Catholic Church

At our next stop, we made our way to St. Antuan Catholic Church. Its façade and high arches, built in Venetian neo-Gothic style, quickly became the focal point of our lenses. Inside, the dim atmosphere lent the photographs an almost painterly depth. The aesthetics and symbolism in the frescoes and sculptures made it clear why St. Antuan is the most popular church in Istanbul.

Church of St. Mary Draperis

Crimea Memorial Church

At the next stop on our walk, the Crimean Anglican Church welcomed us at one of Beyoğlu’s highest points. This stone building, which suddenly appeared before us in the side streets of Beyoğlu, enchanted us far beyond our expectations. Its stone walls and neo-Gothic rose windows, representing the Anglican heritage in Istanbul, once again reminded us f the city’s multicultural past. The Crimean Church provided the backdrop for the most enjoyable moment of our photo walk. The Crimean Church also became the setting for the most memorable moment of our photo walk: our participants joined the church choir, who were already rehearsing inside, in singing Gnossienne No. 1. We then photographed the church from its second floor, a space normally closed to the public and to tourists.

Church of SS Peter and Paul

The final stop was the Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, tucked away in the backstreets of Galata. This small yet striking church offered a beautiful finale to our walk, with its modest but impressive interior and its tower, which has long stood out against the silhouette of the Galata Tower.

Conclusion

At each stop, we encountered a distinct architectural style and the story of a different community. By the end of the day, we had not only taken hundreds of photographs but also created a living memory of Beyoğlu’s cultural diversity. These images have now been uploaded to Wikimedia Commons, helping make the city’s religious heritage accessible to everyone in the digital world.

Related artciles

• Wikimedia Commons category of the photos taken during the walk

Last summer, members of the Wikimedia + Libraries User Group were invited to register as candidates for the board elections. Sixteen people registered as candidates. Nine people received the most votes and currently serve on the board. Below you can read their names and follow the link to their proposal for the User Group.

• Alequihdez
• Clifford Anderson
• Cmwaura
• Gayobah13
• Lilian Viana
• Mehman
• Meritkosy
• Orlysi
• Tsaorin

The committee has held bi-weekly meetings since its formation in September of this year. We are defining aspects related to governance, communication, and outreach. For now, we will be sharing the minutes of our meetings and gradually incorporating you all into our proposals to revitalize the User Group.

The Wikimedia + Libraries User Group was created in 2017 and since then has sought to encourage the participation of libraries and librarians in the Wikimedia movement. With the celebration of two international conferences, among other activities, it has highlighted the contribution of these professionals. Our mission is to continue the actions implemented to date, keep abreast of library participation, and create new opportunities to grow within the movement. For this, we need your enthusiastic participation and ongoing communication. 

Join the group, tell us about your activities and follow our lead within this field of professionals.

Young people make up nearly 60 percent of Uzbekistan’s population. In the Kashkadarya Region, this figure is about half. You might wonder why I’m highlighting these statistics. Let me explain my perspective.

I first discovered Wikipedia when I was 13. I was searching for a historical topic related to Uzbekistan on Google and found articles only in Russian, English, and German. There was nothing on Uzbek Wikipedia. This made me wonder: why shouldn’t we enhance our local wiki? Why shouldn’t we spread reliable information in our native language for our compatriots?

In 2022, the Youth Affairs Agency of Uzbekistan and the Wikimedians of Uzbek Language User Group launched the WikiStipendiya marathon to improve the quality and quantity of articles on Uzbek Wikipedia. I watched the video lessons from the marathon and learned how to create articles. Later, I attended several wiki camps in the Tashkent Region.

This April, I attended the Central Asian Wiki Con in Tashkent. The panel sessions and roundtable discussions provided me with valuable information on how to organize successful wiki projects. Inspired by this, I proposed the “Youth Workshop of Kashkadarya” to the CEE Hub Microgrants Program. I had identified a gap: there were no high-importance articles about youth and children’s rights on Uzbek Wikipedia.

We welcomed 20 of my peers from the region to a youth center in Karshi city. Together, we created more than 50 articles about youth rights and uploaded 100 media files of historic sites in Karshi. The participants were genuinely interested and fully engaged in contributing to the movement. I used a “peer-to-peer” strategy during the workshop: I taught them how to contribute, recruited young volunteers, and had my peers coordinate all event-related matters. This approach worked very well.

The success of the “peer-to-peer” strategy is perfectly illustrated by Sardor Ablokulov, a young Wikimedian from the Karshi district. He registered for our workshop and participated actively, creating over 50 articles on Uzbek Wikipedia. He started his journey in the movement with our Youth Workshop and has since conducted his first wiki event at his specialized school, encouraging his classmates to become Wikimedians.

More recently, we successfully organized the Kashkadarya Regional Program. Four months ago, I researched the information available about the neighborhoods of the Kashkadarya Region. I was surprised to find that articles existed for only 6% of all neighborhoods and villages. With nearly 1,000 neighborhoods and villages—many of them historic and well-documented—this was a significant gap. The region is rich with historic sites; both Karshi and Shakhrisabz are 2,700-year-old cities. Yet, if you search for tourism information about Shakhrisabz, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, search engines often show low-quality photos.

I proposed a project to the Wikimedia Rapid Fund to address this. After discussing the idea with the Wikimedians of Uzbek Language User Group, who agreed with my plan, I began collaborating with the Central Library of Kashkadarya, the Department of School Education, and the Youth Affairs Agency for references and participants. We announced the project on social media and received over 300 applications from across the region in just one week.

We held the project from November 21-23. During the first two days, we ran panel sessions and training on how to create Wikipedia articles, the basics of wiki editing, and how to contribute to the movement as an editor. Participants created nearly 200 articles about the region’s neighborhoods.

On the final day, we conducted a photo tour of the historic city of Shakhrisabz. Participants took numerous photos and uploaded over 400 media files to Wikimedia Commons, including images of the Aksaray complex, Ko‘kgumbaz mosque, Dorussaodat, Dorut-tilovat, Chorsu complex, and other historic sites. We also visited Miraki village, which is surrounded by mountains near the “Hisorak” water reservoir and has been developed by the government as a tourism village. The photos uploaded to Wikimedia Commons play a vital role in increasing the amount of information and data on the internet.

Our mission on Wikimedia projects is always the same: to spread free, reliable, and objective information. And we are expanding this mission by engaging more and more young people.

As the AWA Digitalize Youth Project 2025 comes to an end, November was a month of reflection, celebration, and renewed commitment to open knowledge. Over the past six months, this initiative has nurtured a network of editors contributing to Wikimedia projects through topics related to Niger, South Sudan, and Togo. Despite persistent challenges with sourcing reliable references, participants continued to adapt by focusing on translation, data improvement, and peer learning.

Training and Capacity Building

The month featured two core learning sessions and a final office hour, each designed to strengthen participants’ understanding of key concepts and tools that support sustainable editing practices.

31 October 2025 – How to Tackle Mis/Disinformation on Wikipedia
This session focused on how misinformation and disinformation appear on Wikimedia platforms and the steps editors can take to identify and prevent them. Participants learned practical techniques for verifying facts, evaluating source credibility, and maintaining neutrality when contributing to sensitive topics.

7 November 2025 – How to Run Queries Using PetScan and the Wikidata Query Builder Tool
Participants explored how to use PetScan and the Wikidata Query Builder to find, analyze, and improve Wikidata items. The training helped them understand how structured queries can reveal data gaps and opportunities for creating new, well-referenced items. 

7 November 2025 – Office Hour and Wrap-Up Session
The final office hour served as both a reflection space and a closing conversation. Participants shared their experiences, challenges, and lessons learned throughout the project. Together, we reviewed six months of progress, celebrated the growth of individual editors, and discussed how they plan to continue contributing beyond the project’s conclusion.

All session recordings and resources can be found: here.

November Contributions

Even in the project’s final month, editors remained active and focused on improving representation for topics related to Niger, South Sudan, and Togo.

The focus on translation ensured that information from French Wikipedia could reach broader audiences through English Wikipedia. On Wikidata, participants continued to enrich the open data ecosystem by creating new items and expanding the visibility of notable individuals, institutions, and policies from the three focus countries.

Looking Back: Six Months of Growth

From June to November, the AWA Digitalize Youth Project 2025 has trained and supported editors in producing and improving Wikimedia content that reflects African perspectives. By focusing on topics from Niger, South Sudan, and Togo, participants have helped expand the digital footprint of regions that are often underrepresented online.

Throughout the project, they faced challenges such as limited access to reliable references and language barriers, yet they responded with innovation and collaboration. Translation, peer-led sessions, and the use of Wikidata tools became effective strategies for maintaining progress and ensuring the accuracy and diversity of content produced.

Looking Ahead

As this six-month project concludes, the focus now turns to sustaining the progress made. Participants are encouraged to continue contributing to Wikimedia platforms, mentor new editors, and collaborate with the broader African open knowledge community.

The AWA Digitalize Youth Project 2025 may be ending, but the work continues. The editors who took part in this journey have built skills, confidence, and a shared commitment to ensuring that the stories and data from Africa remain visible, verifiable, and valued.

On November 29, 2025, Wikimedia Korea hosted a special yet event, titled “Wikipedia Records Neurodiversity.”

Neurodiversity means a perspective and social movement that urges society to respect and accept developmental identities — such as autism, ADHD, and dyslexia as forms of diversity.

Wikimedia Korea recognized that social participation and Wikimedia engagement for these individuals have been limited and has been supporting their contributions to Wikimedia projects. As part of these efforts, we invited Professor Kim So Yoon of the Department of Education at Korea University, a first-generation neurodiversity researcher.

Meeting Korea’s 1st Generation Neurodiversity Researcher

Professor Kim explained about the process of understanding, supporting, and recording neurodiversity.

She began with the definition of neurodiversity, discussed the medical model of disability and the resulting stigma, and introduced the social model of disability as a new perspective. She concluded the lecture by mentioning her positive support for neurodiversity and the necessity for changes in social structure.

The audience including neurodivergent people, supporters, and activists with only a superficial understanding of neurodiversity deeply learned about the concept.  WMKR’s manager in charge of neurodiversity support also evaluated it as a good opportunity to review the trend of numerous foreign studies and update their knowledge.

The part the speaker emphasized most was the pathway through which autistic people realize their diagnosis. According to research, parents often inform the individual of their autism diagnosis late, refuse to inform them, or do not inform them at all, leading many autistic people to find out belatedly through documents. The audience shared this awareness of the problem and listened with deep empathy for the professor’s lecture.

The speaker followed up by reviewing some Wikipedia articles and suggested her idea for improvement of them:

• Changing the term “Autism epidemic/disease” (자폐증) to “Autism” (자폐).
• Discovering positive examples of stimming or self-stimulatory behavior behavior.
• Recording extension of neurodiversity discourse within Korea.
• Presenting principles and examples of positive practices for neurodiversity in local communities, etc.
• Presenting community-based participatory research.

In response, one audience member mentioned that while editing Social model of disability, they felt that Korean Wikipedia are lacking many documents regarding disability and users need to edit them diligently.

Wikipedia Users Meet Neurodivergent People

Following Professor Kim’s lecture, a discussion session involving Professor Kim, Wikipedia users, and neurodivergent people was held, hosted by WMKR President Jin Ju Wan.

Various discussions took place, ranging from the diagnosis of autistic people to the introduction and interpretation of research on “borderline children” and actual cases of discrimination against autistic people.

However, one audience member commented, “It was a good meeting, but there were few Q&A interactions between general users and neurodivergent people. The session was mainly conducted between Professor Kim and the audience, failing to fully reflect various perspectives between general users and neurodivergent people.”

Wikimedia Users and Neurodivergent People United by Edit-a-thon

The last session was an edit-a-thon to edit Wikipedia articles regarding neurodiversity. Although editing speeds varied widely, all participants shared their willingness to understand and support neurodiversity. One participant translated Person-first language using WikiVault. Another participant improved neurodiversity article and edited related to mental disorders. Medical model of disability and Social model of disability articles were significantly enhanced. 

All of us with different identities, different editing skills, and diverse brains and nerves  gathered in the event to achieve many results.

Impressions and Future Directions

Participants were generally satisfied with the lecture and hoped that such an event would be held again. Encouraged by this, President Jin stated, “We are planning to host this event as an annual event following Autistic Pride Day,” and asked for continued interest. We will continue to strive to ensure diversity is embraced in the wikimedia movement.

As the African Wikipedian Alliance (AWA) Digitize Youth Fellowship comes to a close, we celebrate a powerful final month filled with learning, collaboration, and meaningful contributions to the open knowledge ecosystem. Over the course of the program, we worked on articles from across Africa, which are: Ethiopia, Senegal and Djibouti.

In this final phase, fellows participated in two comprehensive training sessions designed to deepen their understanding of Wikipedia and Wikidata. These sessions offered hands-on guidance in creating and expanding Wikipedia articles and improving content quality.

Office Hour Engagement

To ensure each participant received the support they needed, we held our final Office Hour session of the fellowship. This space allowed fellows to ask questions about what they feel about the fellowship, share challenges they faced during the phase of the fellowship and also discuss their progress and what worked well for them.  

These conversations have been central to building a supportive editing community that encourages growth, collaboration, and peer learning. 

The impact of this final month reflects the dedication and enthusiasm of the fellows. Their collective efforts resulted in:

• 37 contents worked on
  
• 4 new Wikipedia articles created
  
• 14 articles updated and improved
  
• 18 Wikidata item created and 1 edited.
  

These contributions not only improve access to information but also strengthen the visibility of African stories, culture, and knowledge on global platforms.

This month, 2 new participants joined the mentorship group making it a total of 10 new participants joining, bringing fresh curiosity and energy to the community. 

Reflections and Looking Forward

As we conclude this fellowship, the achievements extend far beyond numbers. Fellows have developed valuable digital skills, gained confidence in contributing to public knowledge, and embraced the mission of promoting African narratives online.

This journey has been one of empowerment about owning our stories, strengthening digital participation, and building a community committed to openness and collaboration.

Even though the fellowship is ending, the movement continues. The skills the fellows have gained will support long-term engagement with Wikimedia projects, enabling them to contribute, teach, and inspire others in their communities.

“Together, we have not only digitised knowledge we have transformed and elevated African narratives in digital spaces.”

Jennifer Lynn Stoever is an Associate Professor of English at Binghamton University, Editor-in-Chief of Sounding Out!, and author of The Sonic Color Line (NYU Press). She is an interdisciplinary scholar who researches the role of sound in constructing racial identities. Her current book-in-progress details how Black women and their record collections were fundamental to the creation of Hip Hop.

I was so lucky to get an opportunity to talk with my former student Paris DeFreitas this semester, one of the busiest and most inspiring people I know! Paris was in the first class I taught with the Wikipedia assignment: “Black Women and Creativity 1960-1980” at Binghamton University in Spring 2024.  Paris was then a sophomore, a first generation university student majoring in Philosophy, Politics, and Law and minoring in Africana Studies. She was already a leader on campus, fostering creativity as the Publications Coordinator of the Black Student Union and the editor of the Vanguard, a showcase for Black artistry.  Paris herself is a poet and a photographer, and creativity infuses everything she does, including her scholarly research.  Paris is now in her first semester of a Master’s Degree in Public Administration at Binghamton, a big step on her way toward her goal of becoming an attorney and increasing the amount of Black women lawyers in the US. It was thrilling to revisit our semester together, reflecting on what we learned through learning to edit Wikipedia and celebrating Paris’s intellectual journeys since then. Enjoy our dialogue!

— 

Jennifer Lynn Stoever: Hi Paris! It’s so great to catch up with you! It’s been a little over a year since we worked on the Wikipedia assignment together. Looking back, what do you think was the most valuable thing you took from it?

Paris DeFreitas: I think the most valuable thing I took from the Wikipedia assignment was the importance of well-sourced information to be disseminated and accessible to the general public, especially the role college students must play to make this possible. Universities as conductors of research who have prolific libraries means that they should contribute their part in making that information available to communities so everyone can benefit from it. 

On that note, what do you hope to accomplish in the use of Wikipedia assignments in your classes?

JLS: I really want students to learn how knowledge is made, that there are politics behind the status quo of history, especially regarding who is remembered and represented and how their story is told.  In order to get a fuller and more accurate portrayal of our past and present — one that’s more diverse and presenting multiple perspectives — we need all hands on deck. I want to show students that they can make interventions in the world of knowledge production right now, that they don’t have to wait! I want to give them the know-how, support, and courage to make edits on Wikipedia and share the information about Black history they are learning with their friends, family and the world! We can all share the facts we have learned from academic sources about people, communities and events we care about, especially when we don’t see them in Wikipedia. Students are powerful and their perspective really matters — and it really matters right now! 

Hopefully you felt some of that in our time together, and that working on editing a Wikipedia article presented you with something different than a traditional research paper assignment. Actually — how do you think the assignment stacked up in comparison? What was different from writing an individual paper assignment on the artist you chose, LaToya M. Hobbs?

PD: In terms of how the Wikipedia assignment was in comparison to a traditional research assignment, there was a big difference in how citations were sourced and written. There was a major difference in the technical aspects of Wikipedia and in learning to remain neutral and unbiased. In addition, a typical research paper usually has strict guidelines in terms of page count, but for Wikipedia editing, it was mostly based on how much you can gather from the sources you found on your artist. This was perhaps the most significant difference between a research report and crafting a Wikipedia article from scratch. 

A new question for you: how will you go about choosing the next batch of artists that you want your students to focus on and build articles for? Would it be plausible for future students to build on the artists from previous classes? 

JLS: That’s a great question. I have done the Wikipedia assignment twice now. The first time was in your class in Spring 2024, and I selected artists whose paintings were in the university art museum because I wanted you to be able to see their artwork up close. Last year I tried something different. I came across these really fantastic oral histories on Black artists published by BOMB Magazine that gave a great insight into the artists’ lives and gave students some starting places for their research and a flavor of their voices right away.  I selected four artists who were working in the 1960s and ‘70s whose articles were underdeveloped, and students selected from that list. 

I really love the idea of having students build from the articles of previous years of the class. It’s definitely plausible! As much as I want to spread the love around and get more artists’ articles built out, it’s also really special to create ongoing links between students across time, to work on a project larger than you.  I know it meant a lot to this years’ class when you came to the Edit-a-Thon with a couple of last year’s students. 

Speaking of, was it like walking into the room in Spring 2025 as an alumni of our class? What did you reflect on? 

PD: I think this past year walking into the room was very different than my year, particularly due to the location. It’s really cool that the library has been renovated to have an area specific for digital student research, and I think a designated space can motivate students even more. It was so cool to see my peers engaged in their projects, informing me on their artists’ work, and teaching others how to edit on Wikipedia.

The next time you teach the class, will you refer to BOMB Magazine again to find artists? Or perhaps go a different route? 

JLS: Ooooh…I actually don’t know yet! You have inspired me to look back and invite “repeats” to see if we can improve the articles even more and connect to previous classes’ work. I am also really interested in building articles for early hip hop artists who haven’t been recognized there, like Sheri Sher from Mercedes Ladies.  Besides BOMB, there’s a really cool group called the Black Lunch Table that hosts edit-a-thons and keep a running list of Black Artists’ pages that need work.  It would be great to pull from that list and formally partner with them.  You know I am always trying to connect with people! But I promise you’ll be one of the first to know!

Speaking of futures, I know that you went on to work with another professor on campus who you met at the edit-a-thon your class hosted, Dr. Warren Harding, on a digital archiving project last year for the Binghamton University Projects for New Undergraduate Researchers (BUPNUR). Was this related to your work on the Wikipedia assignment? How did the project inform your work there, and in graduate school now as you are working on your Masters in Public Administration and policy?

PD: It would be cool to see more light shed on women in hip-hop that were pioneers of the genre! Thanks for letting me know and I look forward to learning more about it.

Participating in the Wikipedia assignment definitely influenced me to continue research through the BUPNUR program!  In Spring 2025, I learned about computer programming and it seemed very fitting, since it was for students who haven’t done research in that way before. I was able to choose from a bunch of professors to work with as advisors and a lot of them were interesting to me! It was great to re-connect with Dr. Harding and his digital research on Caribbean Women Creative Writers was a similar project in terms of the people I chose to shed light on in my research.

Also I chose both of them because often in undergrad I wasn’t able to do longer-term digital projects like in BUPNUR or BW&C, so I really enjoyed doing more research like that in literature and art.  Doing research really helped me for grad school, specifically because I am interested in doing policy research and analysis. A lot of the assignments within the program include research on values for public administrators, policy briefing, and regulatory writing. Although the research from the projects is different, in a way the same skills are being applied.  Black women are often overlooked for their creativity and contributions, but the course taught me well to find ways to bring their works to the forefront wherever I am.

JLS: That’s so powerful, Paris! I am so proud of you and it has been such a pleasure to work and learn together these past two years.  One last question, there are many people out there thinking about working with the Wikipedia assignment in 2026. What would you tell professors deciding whether or not to try the assignment for the first time? Any advice for students who might be nervous about taking on the Wikipedia assignment in a class?

PD: I think professors should be more open to trying out the Wikipedia assignment. It is very refreshing because it isn’t the typical “rinse and repeat” research paper that is only done for a grade and usually stays in the confines of simply being a submission for only the professor and student to see. This project is also more collaborative rather than individual, which is key in research. By taking on Wikipedia editing, your students’ research has the ability to make a tangible difference. The assignment has real substance in the sense that students are working to shed more light on a topic for a wider population that will continue to be shared, built, and expanded to the world for years to come. 

For interested students, I know it is hard at first, but try not to be too overwhelmed by where to start, because, really, you just have to start so you can really see where the research and writing takes you. It is not one-size-fits-all, and each participant can find the methods that work best for them. Even expanding an article just a little bit can be a catalyst for future Wikipedia editors to add more to an article. You got this!

Interested in incorporating a Wikipedia assignment into your course? Visit teach.wikiedu.org to learn more about the free resources, digital tools, and staff support that Wiki Education offers to postsecondary instructors in the United States and Canada.

The first-ever Wiki Leaders Training 2025 brought together emerging Wikimedia leaders from across Bangladesh for a two-day intensive learning experience on 24–25 October 2025 in Cox’s Bazar. Organized by Wikimedia Bangladesh, the initiative brought together promising contributors from across the country for a journey that blended leadership development, technical learning, and community-building. More than just another training event, WLT 2025 signaled the beginning of a long-term effort to nurture future leaders and strengthen the foundation of regional Wikimedia communities.

A New Beginning: From Learners to Leaders

The theme, Learners to Leaders, captured the spirit that guided every session and conversation throughout the event. Participants arrived with different experiences and backgrounds: some were deeply involved in local communities, others had been running small activities with limited resources, and a few were still discovering new aspects of the movement. Yet they all shared one goal: to grow as leaders within the Wikimedia movement and to foster stronger, healthier, and more collaborative communities.

The program design reflected this aspiration. WLT 2025 emphasized: 

• Developing leadership capacity
• Strengthening a culture of mentorship
• Ensuring safe and inclusive communities
• Expanding outreach and GLAM partnerships
• Encouraging long-term planning and sustainability

Rather than a lecture-heavy format, the training embraced interactive sessions, group discussions, hands-on technical sessions, and collaborative problem-solving—making the experience both practical and inspiring the full spectrum of leadership responsibilities within the Wikimedia ecosystem.

What the Training Focused On

The two-day schedule was crafted to support emerging leaders who are ready to take the next step in supporting their local communities. The curriculum covered foundational leadership skills, technical expertise, and strategic thinking relevant to Wikimedia work in Bangladesh.

Community Leadership

Sessions on leadership encouraged participants to think beyond their individual contributions and consider how they could shape healthier, more inclusive communities. They explored conflict resolution, collaborative decision-making, mentorship strategies, and ways to create space for new editors—especially in regional groups where resources are limited.

Technical Skills for Community Work

Several hands-on sessions focused on Wikimedia tools, policies, and workflows that leaders frequently use while guiding community projects. Whether it was understanding global policies, conducting large-scale campaigns, or addressing copyright issues on Wikimedia Commons, participants received practical training aimed at strengthening future program execution.

Outreach and Community Growth

One of the main goals of WLT is to help communities grow sustainably. Sessions covered how to design engaging outreach events, measure impact, communicate effectively with institutions, and represent Wikimedia confidently in academic, cultural, and educational spaces.

GLAM Engagement

A dedicated portion of the training introduced the Group to the fundamentals of GLAM collaboration. Participants explored how to initiate conversations with museums, libraries, archives, and cultural organizations, how to design meaningful content partnerships, and how to document work for future learning and replication.

Sustainability and Long-term Impact

WLT also emphasised the responsibilities that come with leadership, documenting work, maintaining community health, ensuring continuity when leaders step away, and building partnerships that can sustain local activities for years. Discussions encouraged participants to look beyond short-term projects and think about their long-term vision for their communities.

Objectives: Building Confident Future Leaders

Throughout the event, the facilitators centered the training around these key objectives:

• Building a strong, meaningful network among contributors across regions
• Encouraging increased participation in nationwide and thematic Wikimedia initiatives
• Strengthening leadership and teamwork skills
• Promoting community health, safety, and inclusivity
• Enhancing capacity for GLAM and outreach activities
• Improving long-term planning and documentation for community-led work

By the end of the program, participants were left with not just new knowledge but also a clearer sense of purpose, direction, and responsibility as future leaders.

Who Participated

Fifteen active Wikimedia contributors were selected for the inaugural training based on recommendations from regional leaders and on their community involvement. The group represented a wide range of regions and affiliations, including:

• Rajshahi Wikimedia Community
• Dhaka Wikimedia Community
• Chandpur Wikimedia Community
• Mymensingh Wikimedia Community
• Campus Ambassadors

This diversity enriched the conversations, allowing participants to learn from the challenges, innovations, and experiences of different regions. Strengthening cross-regional relationships was one of the strongest outcomes of WLT 2025.

The People Behind the Event

The successful execution of WLT 2025 was the result of careful planning and committed leadership from the Core Organising Team:

• Shabab Mustafa — President, Wikimedia Bangladesh
• Masum-al-Hasan Rocky — Wikimedia Bangladesh
• Moheen Reeyad — Wikimedia Bangladesh
• Muhammad Yahya — Wikimedia Bangladesh

Their combined experience—from community leadership to program management—shaped a training environment that was constructive, welcoming, and impactful for all participants.

Highlights from WLT 2025

Over the two days, participants engaged in a wide array of activities designed to challenge, motivate, and inspire new thinking:

• Interactive leadership workshops that explored real-world challenges faced by community organisers
• Collaborative group planning sessions, where regional groups drafted action plans for future activities
• Technical learning labs covering Wikimedia tools, content workflows, and policy navigation
• Discussions on community health, focusing on inclusivity, safety, and preventing burnout
• Reflection circles, where participants shared their personal journeys, motivations, and future goals

Beyond the formal sessions, the training also offered moments of connection—group photos, evening conversations, and informal networking by the beach. These interactions built trust and strengthened the sense of belonging among participants, which is essential for movement leadership.

Conclusion

As the inaugural edition, the Wiki Leaders Training 2025 successfully established a long-term vision for leadership development within Wikimedia Bangladesh. Participants returned home with a renewed sense of confidence and purpose. Many expressed that the experience helped them see their role in the movement differently—not just as contributors, but as facilitators, mentors, and community-builders.

The enthusiasm and commitment shared by the group suggest that WLT will continue to grow as an annual platform for learning, connection, and leadership development.

Special thanks go to all participants and resource persons who dedicated their time, experience, and energy to make Bangladesh’s first Wiki Leaders Training a meaningful and memorable event.

A full list of participants and facilitators is available on the Meta-Wiki page.

WLT 2025 may have been the first, but it is clearly only the beginning of something much larger for Wikimedia communities in Bangladesh.

The Wikimedia Indonesia Outreach Program in Great Aceh Regency, held on 26-27 April 2025, marked an important step in expanding the spirit of free knowledge to the westernmost part of Indonesia. One notable aspect of this initiative was the presence of a three-member team from the Wikimedia Medan Community, assigned by the Wikimedia Indonesia Education Team to carry out direct outreach in Great Aceh Regency, together with Dr. Teuku Afifuddin, M.Sn., a lecturer from ISBI Aceh who served as a key communication link. This collaboration strengthened inter-community partnerships and further solidified Wikimedia networks across Western Indonesia.

Over the course of two days, the program combined technical training sessions with experience-sharing led by Wikimedia Medan contributors. The main goal was to introduce and equip new contributors, particularly students and lecturers, with the skills and motivation to contribute to Indonesian Wikipedia and Acehnese Wikipedia. This initiative is expected to pave the way for the establishment of a local community in the region, the Wikimedia Aceh Community, as a sustainable platform for contributors.

Who Took Part?

Most participants who joined the WikiLatih Wikipedia training were students, along with several lecturers from ISBI Aceh. Their enthusiasm was remarkable, reflected in the diverse academic backgrounds represented. Participants were especially excited when they realized that their local language and cultural knowledge could become part of a global movement for open access to information.

What Activities Were Held?

Day 1 – WikiLatih: Wikipedia Editing Training

The first day focused on technical editing training on Indonesian Wikipedia. The sessions covered:

• An introduction to the Wikimedia movement and its various projects
• The principles of Wikipedia articles: collaborative, neutral, and based on reliable sources
• A step-by-step guide to creating and editing articles
• Editing techniques such as adding headings, internal links, categories, and references

This hands-on session encouraged active participation, with many participants successfully creating or improving articles for the first time. By the end of the training, participants shared highly positive impressions gaining new knowledge, finding the activity enjoyable and beneficial for sharpening their thinking skills, and feeling more confident in navigating Wikipedia.

Day 2 – Community Gathering & Introduction to Acehnese Wikipedia

The second day took on a more relaxed tone with an offline community gathering focused on Acehnese Wikipedia. The discussion centered on:

• The importance of documenting local knowledge and culture
• The challenges and opportunities of writing in local languages
• How participants can contribute to preserving the Acehnese language and identity through Wikipedia

Participants responded enthusiastically, expressing pride in taking part in efforts to preserve and promote the Acehnese language through digital contributions.

Stories from the Team: Trainers and Organizers

We saw firsthand how hands-on, demonstrative learning can reduce participants confusion when editing Wikipedia. Many who were initially hesitant became enthusiastic after making their first edits, even starting to ask deeper questions about how to improve and expand their articles.

“This activity is more than just teaching editing skills. We want participants to feel that their knowledge in their own language is valuable and deserves to be shared with the world.”

What Can Be Improved?

Based on reflections and participant feedback, here are several points to consider for future outreach activities:

• Focus on local content: Participants showed strong interest in writing about Aceh’s culture, history, and notable figures.
• Support for local languages: Dedicated training on contributing in regional languages (such as Acehnese) is highly needed.

Towards a Stronger Community

The Wikimedia Indonesia Outreach in Aceh is just the beginning. With participants now equipped with foundational knowledge and a growing motivation to document local culture, we hope they will continue contributing actively to both Indonesian and Acehnese Wikipedia. This initiative also aims to support the formation of a local community the Wikimedia Aceh Community.

The hope is that this spirit will not only inspire contributors in Aceh, but also communities across other regions even around the world to continue preserving and sustaining their local languages through open-knowledge platforms.

Thank you to all participants for your passion and contributions. Together, we are building bridges between language, culture, and open knowledge.

The Likpakpaanl (also referred as Konkomba/Likpakpaln/Bikpakpaam/Likpakpaaln /Likpakpal(n)) people are ethnic group found mainly in northern Ghana and parts of northern Togo are underrepresented on the Wikimedia space, a situation that triggered the formation of the Likpakpaanl Language Wikimedians, a group dedicated to consciously bridging this digital divide by carrying out Wikimedia projects on behalf of the Likpakpaanl-speaking people. This project implemented activities to introduce native Likpakpaanl speaking students of the University for Development Studies (UDS) to key Wikimedia platforms like Translatewiki and the Wikimedia Incubator, with the aim of building their localization skills and supporting content creation for Likpakpaanl as one of Ghana’s underrepresented languages, while also introducing these participants to the Wikimedia movement, free-knowledge principles, and the importance of digital language preservation, thereby creating a strong foundation for understanding the broader purpose of the project.

Training sessions were organized to support selected Likpakpaanl students in creating accounts on both Translatewiki and the Wikimedia Incubator. These sessions provided comprehensive instruction on translating interface messages into the Likpakpaanl language. Critical focus was placed on accurately translating and reviewing the “Most Important” and “Most Used” system messages to ensure high quality localization. Through extensive hands-on practice, participants mastered essential content creation skills, including adding content, data boxes, incorporating references, and correcting formatting. This practical methodology successfully reduced hesitation and prepared the students for meaningful contributions. Subsequently, participants actively created and improved articles within the Wikimedia Incubator, laying crucial groundwork and contributing foundational content necessary for the prospective development of a Likpakpaanl Wikipedia.

The project achieved notable success in both localization and content development. Specifically, 587 messages, representing 100% of the “Most Important” and “Most Used” interfaces, were fully localized through translation on Translatewiki. Additionally, 98 new articles were successfully created within the Wikimedia Incubator, significantly supporting the growth of the emerging language Wikipedia. These efforts substantially increased the digital literacy and editing competence among Likpakpaanl students at UDS. New and returning editors gained considerable confidence in using Wikimedia platforms, which simultaneously raised community awareness about the vital importance of digital language preservation and multilingual access to knowledge. Ultimately, these tangible results demonstrate strong progress in both language focused contributions and the establishment of a sustainable foundation for a future Wikimedia community at UDS.

Several strategies were implemented that proved instrumental in ensuring the project successfully achieved its stated objectives. Practical, hands-on editing sessions conducted on platforms such as Test Wiki and the Wikimedia Incubator significantly accelerated student learning and knowledge retention. This environment of experimentation, free from the immediate fear of making errors, greatly encouraged active participation. Furthermore, grounding the project in languages that participants already speak or deeply connect with notably enhanced motivation, fostered a sense of ownership, and resulted in more meaningful contributions. The strategy of pairing students during both translation and editing activities proved beneficial by boosting individual confidence, improving collaborative problem-solving, and cultivating a supportive peer-to-peer learning environment. Finally, the role of experienced mentors in guiding participants through the complex workflows of TranslateWiki, Test Wiki, and Incubator was crucial, ensuring fewer errors, promoting quality contributions, and guaranteeing continuous support for localization accuracy.

Throughout the execution of the key activities, including the launch, Likpakpaanl language translations, and the organized edit-a-thon, the project team actively reflected upon the learning questions outlined in the initial proposal. The cumulative experiences and outcomes of the project yielded valuable insights that are essential for informing and guiding the structure, methodology, and sustainability of future language documentation and Wikimedia community initiatives. These insights offer a robust foundation for scaling successful strategies and optimizing approaches to digital language preservation. We learned that participants were mainly inspired by a desire to promote and preserve the Likpakpaanl digitally which invariably resulted in the excitement of contributing to a global platform such as Wikimedia. Through the project, participants have a unique opportunity to gain new digital, translation, and editing skills and moreover it creates a sense of pride that their language is being recognized internationally. Knowing what motivates participants will help us design future programs that emphasize language visibility, skill development, and recognition. We will continue to highlight the cultural impact of their contributions and create mentorship opportunities that inspire long-term involvement.

Key challenges identified include, Limited internet access or unstable connectivity. difficulty understanding some complex or technical messages during translation. Limited experience with Wikimedia editing interfaces among new participants. Competing academic, economic and personal schedules that affect participation consistency. Planning into the future, we will plan for offline training materials, provide clearer translation guides, schedule sessions more flexibly, and pair inexperienced editors with mentors. We also intend to strengthen internet support for workshops. We observed that collaborative discussion was crucial, especially for scientific or technical terms that do not have direct equivalents. Participants relied on consensus-building, reference to local knowledge, and consultation with language experts or elders. Creating a shared glossary of standardized terms helped improve consistency in translations. Base on this finding, we plan to formalize the glossary into a community dictionary for use on TranslateWiki and in future editing events. This collaborative model will be used for other complex domains such as science, and technology.

Participants reported that the Incubator interface is manageable but can be confusing for beginners. Navigation is not intuitive for first-time users, especially when switching between translation, article creation, and reviewing contributions. However, once trained, participants appreciated the structured environment of the Incubator. We will develop step-by-step guides and short video tutorials for new editors. During training, we will allocate extra time for hands-on practice. Strengthening peer support and providing a dedicated helpdesk during events will also improve user experience. The implementation of the Launch of the Likpakpaanl Language Wikimedians and Edit-a-thon at the University for Development Studies saw a few unexpected situations emerged. Many participants quickly adapted to editing on TranslateWiki and the Test Wiki platform, which contributed to the creation of 98 new Incubator articles and the translation of 587 most-used interface messages. This unexpected momentum strengthened the overall impact of the project.

However, there were also challenges, unstable internet connectivity caused interruptions during training sessions. Additionally, some participants initially struggled with the technical aspects of the platforms, requiring more time and support than originally planned. These experiences offered valuable lessons. First, the overwhelming interest highlighted the importance of preparing to securing more internet support. Second, the need for extended hands on guidance showed that future workshops should include more facilitators and simplified onboarding materials to help new editors learn at their own pace. To ensure that the learnings and results benefit the wider community, several dissemination strategies have been planned and, in some cases, already initiated. The project outcomes such as the translation of 587 most-used interface messages, creation of 98 Incubator articles, and overall participant experiences will be documented and published on Meta-Wiki for open access by all Wikimedia communities.

Additionally, a summary of the lessons learned has already been shared informally with local Wikimedia groups through community WhatsApp platforms and in-person discussions. Moving forward, we plan to present the results during upcoming Wikimedia Ghana User Group meetups and relevant online events, highlighting both the successes and challenges faced working on underrepresented Ghanaian languages, to adopt similar approaches. These efforts aim to ensure that the knowledge gained contributes to broader capacity building, cross-community learning, and continued growth of the Likpakpaanl language within the Wikimedia movement.

Dec 3, 18:24 UTC
Resolved - This incident has been resolved.

Dec 3, 17:44 UTC
Monitoring - A fix has been implemented and we are monitoring the results.

Dec 3, 17:36 UTC
Investigating - We are aware of issues with accessing some wikis, and we are investigating.

🕑 1 hour 37 minutes

Stephen Harrison is a tech lawyer and journalist who has been writing about Wikipedia since 2018, including for Slate and The New York Times. He joins us to talk about all the Wikimedia-related events of the crazy month of October 2025, including the release of Jimmy Wales' book, Larry Sanger's "nine theses", some near-violence in New York City, and the launch of the site Grokipedia.

Links for some of the topics discussed:

• Nine Theses on Wikipedia by Larry Sanger
• "October Surprise: The 2025 Wikimedia Elections Fall into a Transparency Trap" (The Wikipedian blog post)
• WikiConference North America
• "Why Editing Wikipedia Is Becoming More Dangerous" (Slate article by Stephen Harrison, October 2025)
• Grokipedia
• Yaron's LinkedIn post about Grokipedia
• The Seven Rules of Trust by Jimmy Wales
• "Wikipedia co-founder slams 'Gaza genocide' page over 'egregious' anti-Israel claims" (New York Post article, November 2025)
• Jimmy Wales interview on Jung & Naiv podcast, November 2025

• #1: Charlie Kirk
• #2: Deaths in 2025
• #3: Ed Gein
• #4: Donald Trump
• #5: Pope Leo XIV

The most-read article on English Wikipedia this year covered Charlie Kirk, a US political activist, entrepreneur, and media personality who was assassinated in September at a university campus debate he organized. In the day afterwards, people viewed the article about Kirk nearly 15 million times, or an average of over 170 times per second. Across 2025, about 43% of the views on Kirk’s article came from outside the US.  

Coming in the #2 spot is “Deaths in 2025,” an article that has never been lower than third on our annual list of most-read articles. This annual article is updated by English Wikipedia’s volunteer editors when they find published obituaries that come out after the deaths of notable individuals. With eight billion people in the world, there are a large number of notable deaths to update the page with each day.¹ 

One of those deaths in 2025 was Pope Francis. The first Latin American to become pope, Francis served for 12 years before passing away in April. The Catholic Church selected his successor, Pope Leo XIV, a few weeks later. As people rushed online to learn about Leo, traffic to all Wikimedia projects peaked at around 800,000 hits per second—more than 6x over normal traffic levels, and a new all-time record for us. Plenty of people came to learn more about Francis’ life too; his English Wikipedia article was the 11th most-read of the year.

US President Donald Trump entered the office for the second time on January 20, 2025. He is appearing on English Wikipedia’s annual most-read articles list for the eighth time. Since 2015, the English Wikipedia article about Trump has not appeared in that list only in 2022 and 2023.

“The 20 most-read articles on Wikipedia in 2025 show just how much people rely on it to understand the events that shape our lives. Built by a global community of volunteers, each article is a reminder that facts, context, and careful sourcing by humans matter deeply to everyone seeking a trusted place for knowledge,” said Anusha Alikhan, Wikimedia Foundation Chief Communications Officer.

Scroll down to learn more about the other top articles, and you can find the full list featured at the bottom.

¹ While Wikipedia’s strict privacy policy means that we do not have a number for repeat visitors to the “Deaths in 2025” page, our assumption is that a good portion of these views are regular and returning readers that come to read those updates. In addition, Wikipedia’s volunteers split the article into smaller month-by-month lists to keep its overall length at a reasonable size. As of publishing time, the page covers December 2025—but if you’re reading it in January 2026, the page will be redirected to Wikipedia’s “Lists of deaths by year.”

• #3: Ed Gein
• #8: Sinners (2025 film)
• #10: Superman (2025 film)
• #12: Severance (TV series)
• #14: Thunderbolts*
• #15: Weapons (2025 film)
• #17: Adolescence (TV series)
• #20: The Fantastic Four: First Steps

For about a decade, we have published a list of the most-read English Wikipedia articles. In almost all of those years, the film and television you consumed, binged, and enjoyed have held prominent positions. 2025 is no different. Part of the reason is the second screen effect, meaning as you watch the latest movie or TV show, you open Wikipedia to learn more about the production, actors, or more; others read Wikipedia’s plot summaries to get all the spoilers. 

This year, eight articles highlight this pop culture phenomenon:

• Ed Gein, the US serial killer, appears as a result of Netflix’s latest season of Monster. Only about half of the views to Gein’s article came from inside the US, demonstrating the show’s global reach despite being focused on US crimes. The subjects of Monster‘s previous seasons (Jeffrey Dahmer and Lyle/Erik Menendez) were also highly popular on the English Wikipedia in 2024 and 2022, respectively.
• Ryan Coogler’s Sinners and Zach Cregger’s Weapons were two of the most successful films this year at the US box office. Their powerful stories, visuals, and (in Sinners‘ case) music led to them being the first-ever horror entries in all our years of doing these lists.
• The first season of Severance, a US Apple TV show, came out three years ago to rave reviews, but its cultural impact was nothing like this year’s second season. That change can be illustrated through the lens of the English Wikipedia: our page view data shows that it only received about five million hits in 2022, but nearly tripled that in 2025.
• Adolescence, a British Netflix show, has garnered wide attention not just for its acting and storyline, but for its episodes that were shot as one continuous take with no hidden cuts. Pageviews to this article peaked ten days after the show’s release, perhaps as more people discovered it.
• The final three articles are the superhero mainstays from DC and Marvel, including the latest Superman and Fantastic Four reboot, and Marvel’s attempt to craft a “new Avengers” through Thunderbolts*. 

One article that just missed this list was KPop Demon Hunters, the animated musical that has taken the world by storm since its release last June. According to Netflix, the film is their “most watched original animated film of all time.”

• #1: Charlie Kirk
• #4: Donald Trump
• #6: Elon Musk
• #7: Zohran Mamdani
• #16: JD Vance

Politics was another major subtheme in the English Wikipedia’s most-read articles of 2025. Five of the top twenty articles fall into this category. In addition to Charlie Kirk and US President Donald Trump, discussed above, two other articles are related to people who hold or have held prominent roles in the US administration: Vice President JD Vance and former senior advisor Elon Musk.

• #9: Ozzy Osbourne
• #18: MrBeast
• #19: Cristiano Ronaldo

Three articles on the list came from pop culture that was unrelated to the entertainment of film and television: Ozzy Osbourne, MrBeast, and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Ozzy Osbourne, the rock singer/reality show star that was also known as the “Prince of Darkness,” passed away in July. 

MrBeast, the internet personality with the most-popular YouTube channel on the planet, entered the list for the first time this year. Although millions of people have watched his YouTube videos for years, views to his Wikipedia biography spiked in January after he expressed an interest in buying TikTok.

Without the Olympics, the sporting side of pop culture was far less prominent on this list as opposed to last year. Only the soccer icon Cristiano Ronaldo appeared.

---

The top 20

For a more in-depth look across a planet’s worth of Wikipedia activity over 2025, please see our dedicated webpage.

1. Charlie Kirk, 44,907,789 pageviews 
2. Deaths in 2025, 42,508,846
3. Ed Gein, 31,232,285
4. Donald Trump, 25,127,616
5. Pope Leo XIV, 22,052,502
6. Elon Musk, 20,179,628
7. Zohran Mamdani, 20,118,615
8. Sinners (2025 film), 18,230,654
9. Ozzy Osbourne, 17,787,997
10. Superman (2025 film), 17,007,716
11. Pope Francis, 15,281,541
12. Severance (TV series), 13,892,847
13. United States, 13,040,217
14. Thunderbolts*, 12,864,839
15. Weapons (2025 film), 11,753,018
16. JD Vance, 11,617,451
17. Adolescence (TV series), 11,571,799
18. MrBeast, 11,475,681
19. Cristiano Ronaldo, 10,827,510
20. The Fantastic Four: First Steps, 10,768,070

Twenty-five years ago, Wikipedia was just a dream. Today, it is the backbone of knowledge on the internet.

The free online encyclopedia’s 25th birthday is coming on 15 January. It will be a time to celebrate the accomplishments of the nearly 250,000 volunteers who help maintain the site every day by keeping its content neutral, its facts cited to reliable sources, and more. Their work represents humanity at its best—the humans of today, organizing themselves to benefit the humans of tomorrow.

Learn more about Wikipedia’s importance in the video below, and keep an eye on this page for a few special announcements next month.

Written by Ed Erhart, Communications Specialist at the Wikimedia Foundation.

Appendix

• ¹ While Wikipedia’s strict privacy policy means that we do not have a number for repeat visitors to the “Deaths in 2025” page, our assumption is that a good portion of these views are regular and returning readers that come to read those updates. In addition, Wikipedia’s volunteers split the article into smaller month-by-month lists to keep its overall length at a reasonable size. As of publishing time, the page covers December 2025—but if you’re reading it in January 2026, the page will be redirected to Wikipedia’s “Lists of deaths by year.”
• This list was originally published using English Wikipedia data pulled by the Wikimedia Foundation covering 1 January to 10 November 2025. Please see our Year in Review page for more data—and you can bookmark this blog to see the full year of data, including shifted and new articles, when we update it in January 2026. 
• Data notes:
  • All of the pageviews include direct and indirect navigations to the pages in question.
  • This list has been screened for false positives with methods including:
    • Cross-referencing the pageviews against the percentage of views they received from desktop devices, as extreme values of less than 2% or more than 80% correlates strongly with spam, botnets, or other concerns. This affected articles like Cleopatra, a long-time false positive; XXXTentacion; and .xxx.
    • Looking at the number of pageviews that did not have a referrer and removing articles with extremely high values. This impacted a number of articles about large websites, such as Facebook, and browsers like Google Chrome. We suspect that a significant number of the pageviews without referrers are mistakes that occur when viewers are trying to access those.
• We are proud to have published lists of most-read English Wikipedia articles since 2015. You can read that archived content for 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, and 2015.

Image credits

• Header image: Candle by Rolf Schweizer Fotografie, CC BY 2.0; Ronaldo by Ludovic Péron, CC BY-SA 3.0; Fantastic Four poster from Marvel Studios/20th Century Studios, fair use; Ozzy Osbourne by John Mathew Smith, CC BY-SA 2.0; Pope Leo by Edgar Beltrán, CC BY-SA 4.0; Charlie Kirk by Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 4.0; Superman poster from Warner Bros., fair use; MrBeast by Steven Khan, CC BY 4.0; Ed Gein, public domain; Pope Francis by Quirinale.it; Zohran Mamdani by Bingjiefu He, CC BY-SA 4.0; Thunderbolts* poster from Marvel Studios/Walt Disney, fair use; Weapons poster from Warner Bros., fair use; Donald Trump by Gage Skidmore, CC BY 2.5; Sinners poster from Warner Bros./Proximity Media, fair use; flag by Noah Wulf, CC BY-SA 4.0.
• Top five: Charlie Kirk by Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 4.0; candle by Rolf Schweizer Fotografie, CC BY 2.0; Ed Gein, public domain; Donald Trump by Gage Skidmore, CC BY 2.5; Pope Leo by Edgar Beltrán, CC BY-SA 4.0.
• Politics: Charlie Kirk by Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 4.0; Donald Trump by Gage Skidmore, CC BY 2.5; Elon Musk by Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 2.0; Zohran Mamdani by Bingjiefu He, CC BY-SA 4.0; JD Vance, public domain.
• Pop culture: Ozzy Osbourne by John Mathew Smith, CC BY-SA 2.0; MrBeast by Steven Khan, CC BY 4.0; Ronaldo by Ludovic Péron, CC BY-SA 3.0.
• Entertainment: Ed Gein, public domain; Sinners poster from Warner Bros./Proximity Media, fair use; Superman on a bus stop by Newell Reinvention, CC BY-SA 2.0; Adam Scott by Kevin Paul, CC BY 4.0; Thunderbolts* poster from Marvel Studios/Walt Disney, fair use.

The post Announcing Wikipedia’s most-read articles of 2025 appeared first on Wikimedia Foundation.

The contrast provided by Niethammer who looked at the birds on one side while ignoring inhumanity on the other provided novelist Arno Surminski with a title for his 2008 novel - Die Vogelwelt von Auschwitz - ie. the birdlife of Auschwitz.

G. Niethammer

Niethammer studied birds around Auschwitz and also shot ducks in numbers for himself and to supply the commandant of the camp Rudolf Höss (if the name does not mean anything please do go to the linked article / or search for the name online).  Upon the death of Niethammer, an obituary (open access PDF here) was published in the Ibis of 1975 - a tribute with little mention of the war years or the fact that he rose to the rank of Obersturmführer. The Bonn museum journal had a special tribute issue noting the works and influence of Niethammer. Among the many tributes is one by Hans Kumerloeve (starts here online). A subspecies of the common jay was named as Garrulus glandarius hansguentheri by Hungarian ornithologist Andreas Keve in 1967 after the first names of Kumerloeve and Niethammer. Fortunately for the poor jay, this name is a junior synonym of  G. g. anatoliae described by Seebohm in 1883.

Meanwhile inside Auschwitz, the Polish artist Wladyslaw Siwek was making sketches of everyday life  in the camp. After the war he became a zoological artist of repute. Unfortunately there is very little that is readily accessible to English readers on the internet (beyond the Wikipedia entry).

Siwek, artist who documented life at Auschwitz before working as a wildlife artist.

 

Hans Kumerloeve

Niethammer stands behind Salim Ali, 1967. International Ornithological Congress, 1967

• Erwin Stresemann (1889 - 1972)
• Friedrich Tischler (1881 - 1945)
• Lew Osipowitsch Belopolskij (1907 - 1990)
• Jurij Andrejewitsch Isakow (1912 - 1988)
• Veleslav Wahl (1922 -1950)
• Wladyslaw Rydzewski (1911 - 1980)
• Andrzej Dunajewski (1908 -1944)
• Günther Niethammer (1908 - 1974)
• Hans Kummerlöwe alias Kumerloeve (1903 -1995)
• Wladyslaw Siwek (1907 -1983)
• Wlodzimierz Graf Dzieduszycki (1885 - 1971)
• Ferdinand Pax (1885 -1964)
• Kazimierz Szarski (1904 -1960)
• Werner Klemm (1909 -1990)
• Boris Karlowitsch Stegmann (1898 -1975)
• Nikolaj Alexejewitsch Gladkow (1905 - 1975)
• Hong-Gu Won (1888 -1970) - came to learn of his son lost during partition via a Daurian starling that happened to be ringed by his son!
• Pyong-Oh Won (born 1926) son of previous
• Jean Delacour (1890 -1985)
• Kazimierz von Granöw Wodzicki (1900 - 1987)
• Nikolaj Wladimirowitsch Timofejew-Ressowski (1900 -1981)
• Hans Stubbe (1902 -1989)
• Konrad Lorenz (1903 -1989)
• Jan Sokolowski (1899 -1982)
• Roman Wojtusiak (1906 -1987)
• Bernhard Grzimek (1909 -1987)
• Hans Christian Johansen (1897 -1973)
• Wasilij Nikolajewitsch Skalon (1903 - 1976)
• Wolfgang Makatsch (1906 -1983)
• Tso-hsin Cheng (1906 -1998)
• Nikolaj Boew (1922 -1985)
• Hans Schildmacher (1907 -1976)
• Oleg Ismailowitsch Semenow-Tjan-Schanskij (1906 -1990)
• Alexander Bogdanowitsch Kistiakowskij (1904 - 1983)
• Heinrich Dathe (1910 -1991)
• Erich Rutschke (1926 -1999)
• Georgij Petrowitsch Dementjew (1898 - 1969)
• Alexander Nikolajewitsch Formosow (1899 - 1973)
• Pierre Pfeffer (1927 - 2016)
• Micha Jankowski (1842 - 1912)
• Alexander Michailowitsch Jankowski (1876 -1944)
• Jurij Michailowitsch Jankowski (1879 - 1956)
• Walerij Jurewitsch Jankowski (1911 -)
• Charles Vaurie (1906 -1975)
• Walter Beick (1883 - 1933)
• Richard Meinertzhagen (1878 -1967)
• Wilfried Przygodda (1916 -1991)
• Salim Ali (1896 -1987)
• Boris Michailowitsch Pavlov (1933 - 1994) 

SS-Sturmbannführer Schäfer at the head of the table in Lhasa

Issues arising from race and perceptions are of course not restricted to this period or region, one of the less glorious stories of the Smithsonian Institution concerns the honorary curator Robert Wilson Shufeldt (1850 – 1934), who, in the infamous Audubon affair, made his personal troubles with his second wife, a grand-daughter of Audubon, into one of race. He also wrote such books as America's Greatest Problem: The Negro (1915) in which we learn of the ideas of other scientists of the period like Edward Drinker Cope! Like many other obituaries, Shufeldt's is a classic whitewash.  

Even as recently as 2015, the University of Salzburg withdrew an honorary doctorate that they had given to the Nobel prize winning Konrad Lorenz for his support of the political setup and racial beliefs. It should not be that hard for scientists to figure out whether they are on the wrong side of history even if they are funded by the state. Perhaps salaried scientists in India would do well to look at the legal contracts they sign with their employers, especially the state, more carefully. The current rules make government employees less free than ordinary citizens but will the educated speak out or do they prefer shackling themselves. 

Postscripts:

• Mixing natural history with war sometimes led to tragedy for the participants as well. In the case of Dr Manfred Oberdörffer who used his cover as an expert on leprosy to visit the borders of Afghanistan with entomologist Fred Hermann Brandt (1908–1994), an exchange of gunfire with British forces killed him although Brandt lived on to tell the tale.

• To the above list one should add -  Jean-Marie Derscheid.
• Another story to read - about biology and the Nazi era is about the SS Sammelkommando - see Heinz Brücher

• Apparently Himmler's entanglement with ornithology also led him to dream up "Storchbein Propaganda" - a plan to send pamphlets to the Boers in South Africa via migrating storks! The German ornithologist Ernst Schüz quietly (and safely) pointed out the inefficiency of it purely on the statistics of recoveries!

• July 2018 - an English translation of Nowak's book is now available.
• See also Walther Arndt  - Charles McGlashan - Alexei Byalynitsky-Birulya

20/11/2025-26/11/2025

Community

• Adrian Shobrooke shared several insights into the validation process within the context of OSM humanitarian mapping activities.
• Giopera outlined the process behind the creation of several OSM-related logos for the Italian community, which incorporated visual elements derived from OSM data.
• Bastian Greshake Tzovaras shared how he used Every Door and CoMaps for mapping and surveying while trekking in Peru, thanks to offline features and battery saving possibilities.
• Nicole Siggins (MapSwipe governance team) and Benjamin Herfort (HeiGIT) gave a talk at State of the Map Europe about the current state of MapSwipe and its future in OSM. The talk explored the possibility of MapSwipe becoming its own OSM editor, able to add attributes to existing OSM features, as well as the potential to utilise human validated machine learning to add building footprints from fAIr (HOT’s AI modelling tool) to OSM directly. After reading the write-up, you are invited to share your thoughts about these propositions in the accompanying diary post.
• murmeldin explained ► how to carry out indoor mapping using the StreetComplete Expert Edition mobile app.

OpenStreetMap Foundation

• The Operations Working Group is planning to host a copy of OpenStreetMap Spyglass, formerly OSM X-RAY. The goal is to replace the current data layer view on openstreetmap.org and you are invited to join in this effort by answering the public call for help published on the OSM Community forum.
• Fastly reported that the OpenStreetMap team has joined its Fast Forward programme to address its content delivery demands, relying on Fastly’s CDN to support raster tile generation, while deploying tailored Varnish Configuration Language rules to secure its systems, particularly in response to aggressive and irregular traffic linked to AI data scraping activity.

Local chapter news

• The OpenStreetMap US November 2025 newsletter has been released.

Events

• Submissions for the Geospatial devroom at FOSDEM 2026 are currently open and you can submit your contribution by 1 December using the Pretalx. The event will take place at the ULB Solbosch Campus, Brussels, Belgium, 31 January and 1 February 2026.

Education

• Anne-Karoline Distel published on Mastodon about her video that explains how to extract non-obvious data from OSM.

OSM research

• Rizaldy Utomo, of Carnegie Mellon University, has developed the PGH Transit Atlas, an interactive web dashboard that uses OpenStreetMap data to illustrate travel patterns across Pittsburgh Regional Transit bus services and the POGOH bike-share network. This study offered a series of policy recommendations aimed at improving coordination and integration between the two transportation systems to enhance overall transit efficiency.
• According to a study published in Nature Cities, OpenStreetMap data was successfully used to systematically analyse and score 23,477 parks across 35 global cities for their ability to support health-promoting activities, demonstrating the practical value of OSM’s detailed tagging system for large-scale urban well-being research.

Maps

• ^[1] Local newspaper the Oxford Clarion featured an OSM-based map of Oxford college cats.
• Pascal Neis is participating in the #30DayMapChallenge with a November 2025 update to his ‘Unmapped places of OpenStreetMap’, which highlights settlements that may lack basic mapping in OSM.

OSM in action

• The Decolonizing Southeast Asian Sound Archives project has made Pratinada, a website that provides access to several rare musical collections from Southeast Asia held in Europe. The website uses OpenStreetMap data to visualise the location of each sound archive.
• Rutometro, Trufi’s first multi-city app, uses OSM public transport routes from eight cities to help fill Mexico’s mobility gaps.

Programming

• Andy Townsend has developed a new OSM Shortbread vector map style, with a slightly less beige appearance than the style hosted on the OSM website, and he explained how to install it on a web server.

Releases

• CoMaps has released version 2025.11.19 of their map and navigation app for iOS and Android. Beyond updating OSM data to 16 November, this release includes a routing option to avoid paved roads and support for many new POIs, amongst other features.
• Iaan Dess is testing a new changeset viewer and query tool. The aim is to match some of OSMCha’s capabilities but with faster, simpler queries and a more user-friendly interface. Feedback from the community is welcome!

Did you know that …

• … the IHE Delft Institute for Water Education under the auspices of UNESCO annouces webinars on their website? You can also follow them on their GIS OpenCourseWare education platform (we reported earlier) and Mastodon.
• … OSM Relatify is a web app to easily edit the routes and stops of bus routes?

Other “geo” things

• Hans van der Kwast posted on LinkedIn about a map he has created for the #30DayMapChallenge, highlighting place names and other data about copen ► , relating to locations in the Netherlands, Germany, and Poland, showing how these legal instruments, which laid out the mutual rights and obligations between land reclaimers and landowners during the ‘Great Reclamation’ during the 12^th and 13^th centuries, leaving an enduring mark on the European landscape.
• Eita Horishida has updated the page about PLATEAU ► (Japan’s 3D city model, which aims to create digital twins of Japanese cities), including case studies and examples of implementation in the real world. Taichi Furuhashi, president of MAPconcierge, presented a keynote about this project at the State of the Map 2025, held in Manila (Philippines).

Upcoming Events

Country	Where	Venue	What	When
		Atelier Vélo Utile	Rencontre OSM Saint-Brieuc	2025-11-29
	Bengaluru	Shanti Nagar	OSM Bengaluru Mapping Party	2025-11-30
	Melbourne	AURIN, Melbourne Uni Baldwin Spencer Building 113	PIA Urban Data Network Missing Maps: Map Party for a Cause Melbourne	2025-12-01
	Saint-Étienne	Zoomacom	Rencontre Saint-Étienne et sud Loire	2025-12-01
	Oslo	Mesh Nationaltheatret	Mapathon – Monthly Missing Maps w/ EWB Norway	2025-12-02
	Salzburg	Bewohnerservice Elisabeth-Vorstadt	OSM Treffen Salzburg	2025-12-02
	Bern	Celina am Nordring, Bern	Berner OpenStreetMap-Znacht	2025-12-02
	Derby	The Brunswick, Railway Terrace, Derby	East Midlands pub meet-up	2025-12-02
			Missing Maps London: (Online) Mapathon [eng]	2025-12-02
	Toronto	Toronto	Volunteer mapping Manulife GR	2025-12-03
			iD Community Chat	2025-12-03
			OSM Indoor Meetup	2025-12-03
	Stuttgart	Stuttgart	Stuttgarter OpenStreetMap-Treffen	2025-12-03
	Madrid	Online	Mappy Hour OSM España	2025-12-04
			UN Mappers #ValidationFriday Mappy Hour	2025-12-05
	Olomouc		SotM CZ+SK 2025	2025-12-05
	大阪市	大阪大学中之島センター	State of the Map Japan 2025	2025-12-06
	Paris	Carrefour Numérique² de la Cité des Sciences	PSL XXL	2025-12-06 – 2025-12-07
	Biella	Sala Riunioni 2, CTV Centro Territoriale per il Vo	Incontro dei mapper di Biellese, Vercellese e Canavese	2025-12-06
	Braunschweig	Stratum0	Braunschweiger Mappertreffen im Stratum0 Hackerspace	2025-12-06
	नई दिल्ली	Jitsi Meet (online)	OSM India – Monthly Online Mapathon	2025-12-07
			Missing Maps : Mapathon en ligne – CartONG [fr]	2025-12-08
	臺北市	MozSpace Taipei	OpenStreetMap x Wikidata Taipei #83	2025-12-08
	Salt Lake City	Woodbine Food Hall	OSM Utah Monthly Map Night	2025-12-09
	Hamburg	Voraussichtlich: “Variable”, Karolinenstraße 23	Hamburger Mappertreffen	2025-12-09
	Amsterdam	TomTom Amsterdam	Missing Maps/Maptime Amsterdam In-Person Mapathon	2025-12-10
	Žilina	GLOBESY s.r.o.	Missing Maps mapathon Žilina #20	2025-12-11
	München	WikiMUC	Münchner OSM-Treffen	2025-12-11
		Online	OpenStreetMap Midwest Meetup	2025-12-11
	Zaragoza	Etopia	GeoCamp – State of the Map España 2025	2025-12-13
		MAP Mercator museum	OpenStreetMap Belgium at the MAP-Mercator museum	2025-12-13
	København	Cafe Bevar’s	OSMmapperCPH	2025-12-14

Note:
If you like to see your event here, please put it into the OSM calendar. Only data which is there, will appear in weeklyOSM.

This weeklyOSM was produced by LuxuryCoop, MarcoR, MatthiasMatthias, PierZen, Raquel Dezidério Souto, Andrew Davidson, adiatmad, barefootstache.
We welcome link suggestions for the next issue via this form and look forward to your contributions.

Last week WikiconNL 2025 was held in Leiden. I joined and made two contributions besides enjoying being there; a lightning talk and a podcast.

Lightning talk about charts

Program-wise, I gave a lightning talk about the new Charts extension. I recorded it myself with a camera placed on the table just in front of me.

For a video with subtitles, see the version at Wikimedia Commons.

The slides for the talk are available on Swedish Wikipedia and includes some useful links.

Podcast about organizing events

I had also brought my audio equipment, and when there were only talks in Dutch, I took the opportunity to interview some people still roaming around in the hallways. It turned out to be a theme about organizing events, and what events mean to us in the movement.

The full podcast is available at: WikiconNL 2025 – #334.

Here is a fun fact for your next party: Of the top-ten most-visited websites in the world, Wikipedia is the only one to be run by a nonprofit: the Wikimedia Foundation. 

In this role, we are responsible for hosting and protecting Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects. We do not have an editorial role on Wikipedia. Rather, all of the information you read on Wikipedia is created and curated by hundreds of thousands of volunteers around the world. Together, they compile and share information on notable subjects—citing reliable sources such as newspaper articles and peer-reviewed journals—according to the encyclopedia’s editorial policies and guidelines, which are also developed by volunteers.

In addition to this human-led content governance model, another special thing about Wikipedia is that it does not rely on advertising, subscription fees, or selling users’ personal data for funding. Instead, the vast majority of our funding comes from reader donations that average $11.

Fulfilling Wikipedia’s unique and important mission of bringing knowledge to everyone on the planet requires significant and ongoing investment. Below, we explain how your donations are used and how they sustain Wikipedia. We strive for transparency, so you can also explore more details in our publicly available financial reports.

Technology

Nearly half (45%) of our budget goes toward supporting the technology that powers Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects. We are constantly working to enhance the user experience for both contributors and readers, improving site security, and ensuring reliable access to our websites globally. This work helps to sustain a top global website, all at a fraction of the cost of popular for-profit websites, amid an internet environment that is rapidly changing.

When you open an article on Wikipedia, it is served to you by one of our seven data centers across the world. We added our newest data center in Brazil in 2024, which immediately lowered the average time it takes a reader in Brazil to load Wikipedia by one-third of a second. That’s important because it helps people get critical knowledge in a speedy amount of time. These data centers also keep Wikipedia online in times of unprecedented traffic, like the 800,000 requests per second we saw when a new pope was elected in mid-2025.

Additionally, Wikipedia is one of the highest-quality datasets used in training LLMs. As technology companies are increasingly scraping our human-made content, ongoing investments in our infrastructure are crucial to being able to maintain fast, reliable, and secure connections for every person, amid growing demands to serve Wikipedia’s knowledge across multiple formats and devices. 

The Foundation has also increased investment in tools to help volunteer editors expand knowledge on the site so that it remains relevant, accurate, and useful. For example, our content translation tool has been used to translate more than 2.4 million of Wikipedia’s 65 million articles to date.  Investments like these help Wikipedia maintain its position as one of the most multilingual sites in the world, with content available in more than 300 languages. In the last two years, we have also added a dark mode to Wikimedia sites to increase their accessibility, made it easier to show data on Wikipedia, and more.

We’re also investing in reaching new and younger audiences, developing experiments to understand how we can engage them with our mission. This includes reaching people on short form video platforms, through gaming, and more. 

Maintaining infrastructure like this and continuously ensuring Wikipedia is online, available, secure, and accessible for its hundreds of millions of readers and editors around the world takes significant financial and staff resourcing. 

Volunteers

About a third (32%) of our budget is devoted to supporting volunteers, whose hard work is behind all of the information you see on Wikipedia.  

We give volunteers the tools they need to succeed, whether that’s building features that make editing Wikipedia an easier process or supporting systems that help volunteers more quickly and easily catch vandalism. We also support the growth of volunteer editor communities around the world to help improve the content on Wikipedia, close knowledge gaps, and make it more representative of our world.

Wikipedia is built on the premise that it becomes better when more people of different backgrounds and beliefs contribute well-sourced and neutral information to the project; our grantmaking supports this goal. In fiscal year 24–25, we dispersed $18,232,260 across 417 grants, an increase of $1.8 million over the previous year. All of these grants are transparently documented. Our grants do not determine content on Wikipedia. They support volunteers and groups who keep Wikipedia accurate, neutral, and representative of the world’s knowledge and full range of perspectives. For example, we gave $180,000 to the Wiki Project Med Foundation to help them continue their work in making quality health and medical information available on Wikimedia projects.

Additionally, we undertake legal and advocacy efforts to protect people’s right to access and contribute to free knowledge. This can include protecting free expression rights; opposing government-imposed censorship; and educating governments, regulators, and lawmakers to defend people’s right to access and share knowledge globally. As threats to our model continue to rise around the world, this work becomes even more vital to ensure access to free, reliable information is protected.

General expenses

Like all other nonprofit organizations, we have standard operational support requirements—for us, they make up 12% of our budget. A variety of shared services functions are needed to ensure that we are compliant with legal and similar obligations, as well as generally accepted accounting standards. These include human resources, finance, legal, communications, information technology, and more. Together, these allow us to run an efficient and effective organization, as well as support our volunteer communities, staff, and readers around the world.

Another 11% of our budget is devoted to donor support, which is crucial to sustaining Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects. Our team can respond to donors in 25 languages, and we are committed to efficient and effective fundraising throughout the year, ensuring that every contribution helps advance our mission. Every donation we receive is invested back into serving Wikipedia, other Wikimedia projects, and our free knowledge mission.

Our overall efficiency is one reason why we earned the highest rating from Charity Navigator as well as the Platinum Seal of Transparency from Candid (formerly GuideStar).

Looking ahead

Wikipedia exists because millions of people around the world believe that knowledge should belong to everyone. Over the last 25 years, these small acts of generosity have come together to keep one of the world’s last open spaces truly independent and free. We hope you’ll join us in continuing to support Wikipedia for the next 25 years and beyond. 

If you would like to learn more about our funding, please see this blog post or our frequently asked questions.

The post How does the Wikimedia Foundation use donations to Wikipedia? appeared first on Wikimedia Foundation.

For over almost 25 years, Wikipedia has grown to become the backbone of knowledge on the internet. What started as a wildly ambitious and probably impossible dream is now an essential knowledge resource for humanity. It includes over 65 million articles in over 300 languages, all funded by readers like you.

Wikipedia is filled with knowledge by nearly 250,000 volunteers from all kinds of backgrounds. They edit articles, check facts, fix code, and document information from a neutral point of view. Together, they make the internet’s knowledge better. Millions of readers visit Wikipedia each day and benefit from their work—all without seeing an advertisement, encountering a paywall, or being tracked. But have you ever wondered who pays to keep it online? 

Wikipedia operates on a unique revenue model, relying primarily on donations from everyday people who believe that knowledge should belong to everyone. In fact, out of all the world’s most-visited websites, Wikipedia is the only one that is run by a nonprofit organization—the Wikimedia Foundation. This grassroots, reader-funder model protects the independence of Wikipedia. It is run at a fraction of the cost of other top websites, and we invest every donation received back into serving Wikipedia and the dream of making reliable knowledge available to all. 

Let’s dive in to learn more. 

Who operates Wikipedia? 

The Wikimedia Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in the United States. Within that legal designation, we operate as a public charity with an educational mission of making knowledge available to everyone. We accomplish that by supporting Wikipedia as well as a number of other free and open source sister projects, including Wikimedia Commons, Wikidata, Wikisource, and more. 

Our mission is to make knowledge freely available to everyone—independent and without commercial influence. We host technology infrastructure that makes billions of visits to Wikipedia on a monthly basis possible. Because of our steady investments in that technology, Wikipedia can easily handle record-breaking spikes, preventing disruption to the reading or editing experience. 

Since our founding in 2003, we have supported hundreds of thousands of volunteer editors who edit, expand, and curate content on the Wikimedia projects. We equip these volunteers with the most up-to-date tools; ensure connections to Wikipedia are fast, safe and private; provide individuals and organizations around the world with funding to increase knowledge on Wikipedia; and undertake legal and advocacy efforts to protect people’s right to free knowledge.  

How is Wikipedia funded? 

Support from grassroots donors

Wikipedia is funded primarily through single or monthly donations from millions of individuals around the world. The vast majority of our funding comes from regular readers of Wikipedia in over 200 countries who give $11 or less. Many of them tell us that they support our mission because they find value in what Wikipedia provides and what it stands for.

Our revenue model is ideal because it reflects our values: built by people, for people. It also helps protect our independence by limiting the influence of any single organization or individual on Wikipedia’s content.

What else funds Wikipedia? 

While the vast majority of our funding comes from the public, the remainder is received from three sources: major gifts, an endowment, and Wikimedia Enterprise. 

Support from major gifts

Each year, around 2,000 individuals and institutions make donations of above $1,000 to the Wikimedia Foundation. The vast majority of these gifts are unrestricted donations to the Foundation’s general operating fund, meaning the Foundation can choose how best to use them. A small number of purpose-restricted donations are made each year, which help donors make a specific impact on our mission. Some recent restricted donations include support from the Rockefeller Foundation and Google.org for the development of Abstract Wikipedia, a project to let more people share more knowledge in more languages, as well as the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation‘s support of our AI strategy. 

Wikimedia Endowment

The Wikimedia Endowment was established in 2016 as a permanent safekeeping fund to generate income to support the operations and activities of the Wikimedia projects in perpetuity. It is a 501(c)(3) charity, separate from the Wikimedia Foundation, headquartered in the United States. Endowments enable proactive financial planning for organizations that have missions spanning across generations. Gifts to the Wikimedia Endowment support a solid financial foundation for the future and support long-term security for Wikipedia and its mission. By contrast, the Wikimedia Foundation raises funds that support daily operations.

During times of prosperity, the Wikimedia Endowment serves as a springboard for growth and innovation. During tough economic times, the endowment helps fund the most critical operations that keep the Wikimedia projects functioning. Currently, grants from the endowment are funding technical innovation so the Wikimedia projects, including Wikipedia, stay relevant in a time of rapid technological change.

Wikimedia Enterprise

Dozens of generative artificial intelligence models use content from Wikipedia and the other Wikimedia projects to serve up results. Technology companies are increasingly scraping that human-made content and distributing it through new search experiences and other technologies.  Sixty-five percent of our most expensive traffic now comes from these sorts of high-volume reusers. All of that consumes bandwidth and resources that we need to support the Wikimedia projects, contributors, and readers.

In 2021, the Wikimedia Foundation established Wikimedia Enterprise as a commercial product for large-scale reusers and distributors of Wikimedia content. It is an opt-in product that allows companies to use Wikipedia content at scale and sustainably without severely taxing Wikipedia’s servers, while also enabling them to support our nonprofit mission. When used at a high volume or speed, this is a paid-for service. Our content is (and always will be) free for humans to reuse, but this was never intended to extend to corporations who are making large profits from the work of our volunteering community. 

Put simply: Wikipedia’s content is free, but its infrastructure is not.

How can I verify all this info? 

The Wikimedia Foundation’s mission to empower people worldwide to collect, develop, and share knowledge can only be achieved through a combination of trust and transparency. That is why we regularly share our annual plans, annual reports, and financial reports (including annual audits from an independent firm, in line with nonprofit best practices). These documents outline how funds are raised and used, and all are available for public review and analysis. Our efforts towards transparency have earned us the highest rating from Charity Navigator as well as the Platinum Seal of Transparency from Candid (formerly GuideStar). 

Wikipedia relies on all of us 

Nearly 25 years after its founding, Wikipedia continues to exist because millions of people around the world believe that knowledge should belong to everyone—and they choose to keep it free.

If you would like to donate to Wikipedia now, please see donate.wikimedia.org. If you would like to learn more about how the Wikimedia Foundation uses donated funds, please see this blog post.

The post How is Wikipedia funded? appeared first on Wikimedia Foundation.

UK Heritage 3D Data at Risk: Developing a Strategy for Long Term Access & Storage awarded grant to ensure future access to the UK’s 3D heritage data.

Today, Wikimedia UK is announcing a £56,198 grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund to safeguard access to the UK’s 3D heritage data and create a sustainable future. 

3D digitisation has rapidly become more affordable and accessible to heritage organisations seeking new ways to investigate the historic collections and spaces in their charge, and engage audiences with the stories connected with them. At the same time, national UK infrastructure has not kept pace with vast amounts of 3D data being produced leading many organisations to rely on commercial and proprietary platforms for storage, hosting, and dissemination tools. As the priorities of commercial platforms and the needs of the heritage community substantially differ, sustainable access to the UK’s digital 3D heritage data is in a precarious position.

The UK’s digital 3D heritage data is a unique asset that is of immense value for both professional researchers and general audiences alike and without this funding from the Heritage Fund access to this valuable resource is at risk of being lost. The UK Heritage 3D Data at Risk project will provide both short term guidance for UK heritage organisations to safeguard their 3D data, as well as indicate a long term strategy for sustainable access informed by the needs of professionals and audiences. In short, the project aims to:

• Save heritage by creating a strategic plan to preserve and provide long-term access to over 5,000 at-risk digital 3D models currently on the Sketchfab platform. 
• Protect the environment by researching and recommending sustainable 3D publication workflows that reduce duplicated effort and server usage. 
• Champion inclusion, access, and participation by engaging a diverse range of stakeholders through various methods, including providing financial support to remove barriers to involvement. 
• Boost organisational sustainability by giving UK heritage institutions a practical roadmap to future-proof their 3D collections. 

If you are working with 3D data within the UK heritage sector, UK Heritage 3D Data at Risk would love to hear from you. You can contribute your organisation’s story via a short online interview, online survey, participating in an online workshop, or joining us for an in-person event towards the end of the project. Please visit this WikiCommons page or send a message to 3Ddata@wikimedia.org.uk for more information.

Quotes

Lucy Crompton-Reid, Wikimedia UK Chief Executive said: “We are extremely pleased to have received this support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Thanks to National Lottery players we will be working on a roadmap to preserve 3D heritage. 3D files are a fantastic way for the public to explore the past, getting up close to objects that may be hundreds of miles away or behind glass to preserve them. The scans and models of everything from finger rings to entire buildings are an invaluable resource that must remain accessible now, and for future generations.”

Independent digital heritage consultant Thomas Flynn said “With gratitude to The National Lottery Heritage Fund and National Lottery players, I am delighted that we can move forward with this project. This funding provides a critical lifeline for thousands of unique 3D digital heritage assets from heritage organisations across the UK that are currently at risk. Working in partnership with Wikimedia UK and engaging with heritage professionals from across the country, we can now build a collaborative roadmap to help ensure this invaluable data is preserved and remains accessible for researchers, educators, and the public for generations to come.”

Stuart McLeod, Director of London and South at The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: “Thanks to National Lottery players, we’re proud to support this vital project that will look to create best practice to safeguard the UK’s digital heritage. It will offer guidance for both small and larger organisations for preserving 3D heritage, including thinking about the environmental impacts. It will help to ensure that heritage organisations across the UK can continue to innovate, engage and inspire through digital technologies and protect our heritage for future generations.”

NOTES TO EDITORS 

About Wikimedia UK

Wikimedia UK is the national charity for the global Wikimedia movement. Our mission is to enable people to engage with open knowledge and access reliable information in order to develop their understanding of the world, and make informed decisions about issues that affect them. We work with educators, communities and cultural institutions to make knowledge more equitable, representative and accessible across Wikipedia and its sister projects.

About Thomas Flynn

Thomas Flynn is a UK based digital heritage specialist offering services and advice related to 3D digitisation, online publishing, open access, storytelling, and interoperability. He has worked with UNESCO, Europeana, Oxford University, Creative Commons, and many more organisations. Thomas is a Visiting Fellow to Bournemouth University’s Faculty of Archaeology & Anthropology, a co-chair of the IIIF 3D Community Group, and sits on the advisory board of the Rijksmuseum’s 2and3D Photography Conference. Thomas runs the Spatial Heritage Review newsletter and LinkedIn Group, is co-author of glam3d.org, and co-founder of museuminabox.org. Previously, Thomas was Cultural Heritage Lead at sketchfab.com and launched the British Museum’s first public online collection of open access 3D scans.

About The National Lottery Heritage Fund 

Our vision is for heritage to be valued, cared for and sustained for everyone, now and in the future. That’s why as the largest funder for the UK’s heritage we are dedicated to supporting projects that connect people and communities to heritage, as set out in our strategic plan, Heritage 2033. Heritage can be anything from the past that people value and want to pass on to future generations. We believe in the power of heritage to ignite the imagination, offer joy and inspiration, and to build pride in place and connection to the past.

Over the next 10 years, we aim to invest £3.6billion raised for good causes by National Lottery players to make a decisive difference for people, places and communities.

Further information

For further information, images and interviews please contact Thomas Flynn and Richard Nevell on 3Ddata@wikimedia.org.uk.

The post Heritage 3D Data at Risk project awarded National Lottery Heritage Fund Grant. appeared first on Wikimedia UK.

Dr. Jennifer Bernstein is Editor-in-Chief of the University of California Press journal “Case Studies in the Environment” and adjunct faculty at Texas Tech and Tarleton State Universities.

A Graduate-level Wikipedia editing assignment in Environmental Studies

Course: ENVS 5185: Research and Writing in Environmental Studies (Tarleton State University)
Enrollment: 18 graduate students
Final reflections analyzed: 16

In Fall 2025, my graduate students in ENVS 5185 completed the “Wikipedia assignment,” a forward-facing assignment in which they edited environmental articles connected to their research interests. They selected an article, identified gaps, located reliable secondary sources, and contributed neutral, well-cited content. Students worked on topics such as PFAS contamination, climate change in the Caribbean, carbon capture and storage, dead zones, fossil communities, air pollution, and the Dallas Arboretum.  The project emphasized Wikipedia’s policies and approach- neutrality, verifiability, and no original research. In addition to improving real-world information quality, the project strengthened students’ public-facing science communication skills at a time when transparent, accurate environmental information is more important than ever.

Wikipedia vs. AI: A Different Model of Knowledge

Several students contrasted Wikipedia’s open, well-documented approach to knowledge production with the dominance of AI tools that distribute information through proprietary, black-box systems. As one student noted, “Wikipedia requires sources you can check. AI doesn’t show where anything comes from.” Another appreciated that Wikipedia, despite its imperfections, “lets you see the scaffolding of knowledge,” whereas AI systems obscure authorship and provide few mechanisms to correct inaccuracies. Perhaps ironically, students described editing Wikipedia as a form of public service, in part because its accuracy shapes the environmental information that large language models later reproduce. 

Based on student feedback, the project effectively made the point that Wikipedia exemplifies a non-commercial, bottom-up model of knowledge creation that operates differently (and quite successfully) when compared to the opaque, for-profit, AI-dominated  information systems currently reshaping education.

Communicating Science Neutrally

The assignment highlighted a gap in graduate training, which is the ability to translate scientific knowledge neutrally to public audiences. Most students entered the project with considerable subject-matter expertise, making them an ideal Wikipedia editor, but ironically that same expertise left them challenged when asked to set aside their often-strong opinions to match Wikipedia’s tone. While many students described the challenge of writing neutrally about issues they were passionate about, they recognized the value of communicating clearly to nonspecialist audiences and thus pushed themselves. One student stated that, “Neutrality doesn’t mean watering down the truth- it means giving people space to think.” Many stated that these skills, despite being tailored to Wikipedia,  would serve them in their academic research as well. 

Source Evaluation in a Messy Information Landscape

Almost every student noted that their chosen Wikipedia article contained on low-quality and often-dated references such as old datasets, outdated data graphics, broken citations, and lack of recent findings. Improving the articles forced students to expand their research and evaluate sources rigorously. They were required to read Robert Harris’s “Evaluating Internet Sources” article and apply Harris’s CARS checklist (Credibility, Accuracy, Reliability, Support).

Through the process, students recognized that serving a general audience required credible sources beyond peer reviewed journals, such as:

• government and regulatory data (EPA, NOAA, WHO, state agencies)
• institutional or tribal sources
• reputable scientific and news organizations

Students gained the practice of using CARS checklist to assess information quality across a diversity of sources. 

Connecting Wikipedia Work to Their Own Research

Students integrated what they learned doing this assignment with their academic work. Many selected articles closely tied to their thesis projects. One student observed that the project “opened new research pathways I hadn’t considered.” Another described how the discipline of paraphrasing and source-checking “will absolutely change how I vet literature for my thesis.”

Although the assignment was not structured like a traditional literature review, students repeatedly acknowledged that the skills they practiced, such as source evaluation, neutrality, paraphrasing, and writing for diverse audiences, would directly strengthen their academic research.

Wikipedia as “a lot better than it was”

A consistent theme was how dramatically students’ perceptions of Wikipedia shifted. Many began the semester believing Wikipedia was inherently unreliable “because that’s what we were told in school.” Nearly all ended with a deeper appreciation for Wikipedia’s moderation systems, oversight, and community-moderated accountability. More importantly, they saw firsthand that not-for-profit, collaborative knowledge production can produce high-quality environmental information, often better and generated immensely more transparently than commercial AI systems. 

Conclusion

This assignment offered students a hands-on experience engaging with a transparent, collaborative, and traceable model of public scholarship. They developed ownership over “their” Wikipedia page. One student was satisfied when they observed that their article moved “from a small, poorly written page to something that resembled a real resource” after multiple rounds of reference improvements from themselves and the broader Wikipedia community. They felt the reward of contributing to an intellectual community in real time and made a substantive contribution to the information landscape on a topic they cared about. Instead of writing a research paper that would die on my desk, their work took up space in the world.

Student reflections showed that contributing to Wikipedia helped them learn how to navigate a rapidly changing information landscape, and that public facing science communication is not peripheral to their academic training but central to its improvement.

Interested in incorporating a Wikipedia assignment into your course? Visit teach.wikiedu.org to learn more about the free resources, digital tools, and staff support that Wiki Education offers to postsecondary instructors in the United States and Canada. Apply by December 1 for priority consideration for spring 2026 courses.

Until now, when you visited a wiki (like en.wikipedia.org), the server responded in one of two ways: a desktop page, or a redirect to the equivalent mobile URL (like en.m.wikipedia.org). This mobile URL in turn served the mobile version of the page.

All wikis now serve mobile page views on the canonical domain, instead of via a redirect.

The changed improved mobile response time by 20% worldwide, un-broke Commons SEO, and fixed a long-standing UX issue with opening shared links on desktop. Read more about this on the Wikimedia Blog:

→ techblog.wikimedia.org

This post appeared on timotijhof.net. Reply via email

13/11/2025-19/11/2025

Mapping campaigns

• confusedbuffalo is proposing an automated edit of phone numbers in the US to remove extra punctuation and to add the country code. This will standardise numbers and make it easier to identify genuinely invalid phone numbers. Contributors are invited to discuss in the forum thread and get in touch if they think such an edit would also be useful and accepted in their country.

Community

• Alex Spritze has recorded ► his OSM editing activity and then published it on YouTube.
• Ian Buck and Parker Seaman, of the Streets.mn podcast, have conducted an interview with Jackson Kruger, a Minnesota-based OpenStreetMap contributor, in an episode titled ‘Demystifying OpenStreetMap’.
• Arizona State University News reported that YouthMappers marked its tenth anniversary on 17 November. Over the decade it has grown to 400 chapters in 80-plus countries with 26 million OpenStreetMap edits.

Imports

• GridRecce is preparing an OSM import project to improve address coverage in the City of Brampton, Canada, using open data provided through the Brampton GeoHub.

Humanitarian OSM

• A surge of recent mapping activity has been recorded in the areas surrounding Indonesia’s Mount Semeru, the highest peak of Java. The pattern reflects humanitarian mapping efforts by the OpenStreetMap Indonesia community following the volcano’s eruption on Wednesday 19 November at 4 pm local time.

Maps

• Bella Mironova shared a submission for Day 14 of the 30DayMapChallenge: a map titled ‘Palmanova’, depicting the star-shaped fortress city in northeastern Italy. This map was created using OpenStreetMap data.

OSM in action

• Dennis Metzler has built ► CacheTycoon, a mobile treasure-hunting game that uses GNSS and OpenStreetMap data to guide players to nearby caches. By locating these points, players can collect rewards, unlock achievements, and advance through the game’s levels.

Releases

• In the November update of Organic Maps, lakes, protected areas, and boundaries of uploaded regions are now displayed on overview zooms. Routing also now takes into account conditional access restrictions.
• Pablo Brasero gave a rundown of changes made to the OpenStreetMap website software since mid-October, including more dark mode compatibility, a redesigned context menu on the home page, and lots of behind-the-scenes improvements to the developer experience.
• Tobias Zwick announced the release of StreetComplete version 62.0, which introduces several new quests and improvements.

Did you know that …

• … ^[1] Zartbitter has a web map that visualises turn restrictions using OpenStreetMap data and will flag those with errors?
• … you can find all of weeklyOSM’s articles as a .csv file in Raquel Dezidério Souto’s GitHub repository? The extraction was done by TheFive, lead developer of the OSMBC. The last backup was done on 15 November 2025 and we intend to update this on a regular basis.

OSM in the media

• Pernille Tranberg, of DataEthics, has written an article titled ‘OpenStreetMap is for the People’. The article notes that OSM is maintained by a global community of volunteers who prioritise human-centred mapping, allowing users to find routes for walking, biking, or specific needs like finding shaded paths, all while offering an environment free from surveillance capitalism.
• The public broadcaster in Cherkasy, Ukraine, has spoken with architect and OpenStreetMap contributor Fedir Gontsa about the reconstruction of historic slopes, the city’s architectural heritage, and the importance of high-quality mapping for urban planning.

Other “geo” things

• The French National Library has launched Galligeo , a tool for visualising (on an OSM tile background) geolocated maps from its collection. It is also possible to contribute to the geolocation of historical maps.
• Zhenlong Li, a professor at Penn State University (PSU), has shared that the SpatialAnalysisAgent (or the GIS Copilot), a user-friendly QGIS plugin, now offers free access with a GIBD account with a daily limit. The PSU has also published a good guide to learn how to create an account and start to use the geoAI.
• Sorami Shiromizu has published an article about Rekichizu ►, a website where users can view historical Japanese maps presented with modern cartographic design. The project’s main developer, Hajime Kato, gathered various old maps and historical documents from libraries across Japan, digitally traced them using QGIS, and applied an original map style intended to convey the historical atmosphere while preserving modern readability.

Upcoming Events

Country	Where	Venue	What	When
			Missing Maps : Mapathon en ligne – CartONG [fr]	2025-11-24
	Karlovac	Prostorija, Mije Krešića 4, Karlovac	OSM predavanje i StreetComplete u praksi u Karlovacu	2025-11-25
	Berlin	Online	OSM-Verkehrswende #70	2025-11-25
			Transmission Grid Mapping MapYourGrid	2025-11-26
	Toronto	Workhaus Dundas	Workhaus Mapathon!	2025-11-26
		Fabrique des possibles	Réunion OpenStreetMap	2025-11-26
	Hannover	Kuriosum	OSM-Stammtisch Hannover	2025-11-26
			Mittelweser-Mappertreffen	2025-11-26
	Düsseldorf	Online bei https://meet.jit.si/OSM-DUS-2025	Düsseldorfer OpenStreetMap-Treffen (online)	2025-11-26
	Freiburg im Breisgau	CCC FR	OSM-Treffen Freiburg Br.	2025-11-26
			[Online] OpenStreetMap Foundation board of Directors – public videomeeting	2025-11-27
	Trento	Trento	FOSS4G-IT – OSMit 2025	2025-11-27 – 2025-11-28
	Amsterdam	TomTom HQ	Maptime Amsterdam: Map & Meet	2025-11-27
	Madrid	Online	Mappy Hour OSM España	2025-11-27
	Општина Стара Пазова	Saloon Two guns	Redovno okupljanje	2025-11-27
	Dar es-Salaam		State of the Map Africa 2025	2025-11-28 – 2025-11-30
			OSMF Engineering Working Group meeting	2025-11-28
	Bengaluru	Shanti Nagar	OSM Bengaluru Mapping Party	2025-11-30
	Melbourne	AURIN, Melbourne Uni Baldwin Spencer Building 113	PIA Urban Data Network Missing Maps: Map Party for a Cause Melbourne	2025-12-01
	Oslo	Mesh Nationaltheatret	Mapathon – Monthly Missing Maps w/ EWB Norway	2025-12-02
	Salzburg	Bewohnerservice Elisabeth-Vorstadt	OSM Treffen Salzburg	2025-12-02
	Bern	Yaadein, Bern	Berner OpenStreetMap-Znacht	2025-12-02
			Missing Maps London: (Online) Mapathon [eng]	2025-12-02
	Derby	The Brunswick, Railway Terrace, Derby	East Midlands pub meet-up	2025-12-02
			iD Community Chat	2025-12-03
			OSM Indoor Meetup	2025-12-03
	Stuttgart	Stuttgart	Stuttgarter OpenStreetMap-Treffen	2025-12-03
	Madrid	Online	Mappy Hour OSM España	2025-12-04
			UN Mappers #ValidationFriday Mappy Hour	2025-12-05
	Olomouc		SotM CZ+SK 2025	2025-12-05
	大阪市	大阪大学中之島センター	State of the Map Japan 2025	2025-12-06
	Paris	Carrefour Numérique² de la Cité des Sciences	PSL XXL	2025-12-06 – 2025-12-07
	Biella	Sala Riunioni 2, CTV Centro Territoriale per il Vo	Incontro dei mapper di Biellese, Vercellese e Canavese	2025-12-06
	Braunschweig	Stratum0	Braunschweiger Mappertreffen im Stratum0 Hackerspace	2025-12-06
	नई दिल्ली	Jitsi Meet (online)	OSM India – Monthly Online Mapathon	2025-12-07
			Missing Maps : Mapathon en ligne – CartONG [fr]	2025-12-08
	臺北市	MozSpace Taipei	OpenStreetMap x Wikidata Taipei #83	2025-12-08

Note:
If you like to see your event here, please put it into the OSM calendar. Only data which is there, will appear in weeklyOSM.

This weeklyOSM was produced by MarcoR, MatthiasMatthias, Raquel Dezidério Souto, Strubbl, Andrew Davidson, barefootstache.
We welcome link suggestions for the next issue via this form and look forward to your contributions.

A few weeks ago, I made my way to Lisbon, Portugal to attend the GLAM Wiki Conference 2025 hosted by WikimediaPT, Wiki Editoras Lx, the Wikimedia Foundation, Wikimedia Brasil and several other amazing folks. Never heard of the GLAM Wiki Conference and wondering how there could possibly be another Wiki-related conference? I’m sure you’re not alone! But what makes this conference worth a trip across the world?

Simply put, the chance to connect with an incredibly diverse group of cultural heritage organizations and practitioners. The GLAM in the name? That’s an acronym that stands for Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums, which only begins to describe the attendees of this conference. The goal of the conference is to create this happy mix of passionate people, learn how all of us can better work within our respective Wiki-communities, and explore this year’s theme of resilience. Forty presentations, several keynotes, breakout sessions, and demos, seen by around 200 participants, were spread out over three days at the Iscte — Instituto Universitaria de Lisboa.

Resilience, the theme, was resonant this year as many institutions worldwide have experienced significant challenges this past year. Whether in staffing, mission, vision, outside pressure, preservation, audience, tools, time or anything else, survival, sustainability, and the ability to continue to serve communities all remain urgent goals.

This particular slice of the Wiki world is an interesting one as their projects tend to spread across several Wikimedia projects — Wikipedia, Wikidata, Commons and many others. This unique cross-section presents some interesting opportunities and challenges.

To me, one of the most important parts of this conference was the fact that so many attendees come from institutions with a built-in and invested audience. For example, art museums have visitors. Archives have researchers. Governments have their citizens. Editing in the Wiki world comes on top of the investment these institutions make within their respective communities To serve their communities as well as contribute to the Wiki world, the conference attendees continuously work to make their collections make sense for their museums and for Wikipedia or Wikidata. This adds a sense of application and immediacy to the work. The scale of the collections represented at the conference ranged from 100 significant Basque objects to countrywide heritage portals in Chile and global coordination efforts across hundreds of museums, collections, and millions of records.

The conference also provided the unique opportunity to explore the tools necessary for representing cultural heritage in the Wiki world — image uploading, batch edits, mapping, visualizing and more. Some new tools I learned about ranged from a tool called Tapestry that provides an in-browser multimedia experience for users to full toolkits for new institutions to implement for successful projects. There were also the perpetual topics of tool support, development, and maintenance. Given the nature of these projects, these tools must be resilient.Tooling remains an ongoing conversation.

And what would a conference in 2025 be without several sessions devoted to artificial intelligence? I attended one talk that featured some cool scripts and tools for Wikimedia Commons, serving up automatic ALT-text and sorting images based on user input. Several of the keynotes made reference to AI challenging the status quo for cultural heritage museums. One significant concern was regarding harvesting and ingesting institutional datasets en masse, which attributes little to nothing back to the museums and essentially cuts the museums out of the conversation for people who use AI tools to access what began as museum data. This is destabilizing and I, along with the rest of us at the conference, hope this dynamic changes. 

But destabilization wasn’t my only takeaway. In other talks, several speakers pointed out that the best way to address these changes is to put people at the center of conversations about AI and cultural authority. Institutions have always put people first. People are where cultural heritage comes from, and why we visit museums. Between their collections, audience, and staff, these organizations know that with people, everything is possible. So, making AI work for everyone involved seems like a good way to frame things. For all the challenges we currently face and will face in the future as a community, I can’t think of a better tool to help us through these challenging times than each other. 

The GLAM Wiki Conference covered a lot of big, difficult topics. Resilience was an important, prescient theme for this year and will continue to be. Technology in the hands of people who know how to use it for other people feels pretty great. And you couldn’t ask for a better set of organizers and host country. It was wonderful to learn and connect with the hosts and other participants in Lisbon. I had a lot of fun with everyone, which might explain why after attending, I feel refreshed, ready to jump into a new year of GLAM projects.

How we achieved 20% faster mobile response times, improved SEO, and reduced infrastructure load.

Until now, when you visited a wiki (like en.wikipedia.org), the server responded in one of two ways: a desktop page, or a redirect to the equivalent mobile URL (like en.m.wikipedia.org). This mobile URL in turn served the mobile version of the page from MediaWiki. Our servers have operated this way since 2011, when we deployed MobileFrontend.

Over the past two months we unified the mobile and desktop domain for all wikis (timeline). This means we no longer redirect mobile users to a separate domain while the page is loading.

We completed the change on Wednesday 8 October after deploying to English Wikipedia. The mobile domains became dormant within 24 hours, which confirms that most mobile traffic arrived on Wikipedia via the standard domains and thus experienced a redirect until now.^[1][2]

Why?

Why did we have a separate mobile domain? And, why did we believe that changing this might benefit us?

The year is 2008 and all sorts of websites large and small have a mobile subdomain. The BBC, IMDb, Facebook, and newspapers around the world all featured the iconic m-dot domain. For Wikipedia, a separate mobile domain made the mobile experiment low-risk to launch and avoided technical limitations. It became the default in 2011 by way of a redirect.

Fast-forward seventeen years, and much has changed. It is no longer common for websites to have m-dot domains. Wikipedia’s use of it is surprising to our present day audience, and it may decrease the perceived strength of domain branding. The technical limitations we had in 2008 have long been solved, with the Wikimedia CDN having efficient and well-tested support for variable responses under a single URL. And above all, we had reason to believe Google stopped supporting separate mobile domains, which motivated the project to start when it did.

You can find a detailed history and engineering analysis in the Mobile domain sunsetting RFC along with weekly updates on mediawiki.org.

Site speed

Google used to link from mobile search results directly to our mobile domain, but last year this stopped. This exposed a huge part of our audience to the mobile redirect and regressed mobile response times by 10-20%.^[2]

Google supported mobile domains in 2008 by letting you advertise a separate mobile URL. While Google only indexed the desktop site for content, they stored this mobile URL and linked to it when searching from a mobile device.^[3] This allowed Google referrals to skip over the redirect.

Google introduced a new crawler in 2016, and gradually re-indexed the Internet with it.^[4-7] This new “mobile-first” crawler acts like a mobile device rather than a desktop device, and removes the ability to advertise a separate mobile or desktop link. It’s now one link for everyone! Wikipedia.org was among the last sites Google switched, with May 2024 as the apparent change window.^[2] This meant the 60% of incoming pageviews referred by Google, now had to wait for the same redirect that the other 40% of referrals have experienced since 2011.^[8]

Unifying our domains eliminated the redirect and led to a 20% improvement in mobile response times.^[2] This improvement is both a recovery and a net-improvement because it applies to everyone! It recovers the regression that Google-referred traffic started to experience last year, but also improves response times for all other traffic by the same amount.

The graphs below show how the change was felt worldwide. The “Worldwide p50” corresponds to what you might experience in Germany or Italy, with fast connectivity close to our data centers. The “Worldwide p80” resembles what you might experience in Iran browsing the Persian Wikipedia.

SEO

The first site affected was not Wikipedia but Commons. Wikimedia Commons is the free media repository used by Wikipedia and its sister projects. Tim Starling found in June that only half of the 140 million pages on Commons were known to Google.^[9] And of these known pages, 20 million were also delisted due to the mobile redirect. This had been growing by one million delisted pages every month.^[10] The cause for delisting turned out to be the mobile redirect. You see, the new Google crawler, just like your browser, also has to follow the mobile redirect.

After following the redirect, the crawler reads our page metadata which points back to the standard domain as the preferred one. This creates a loop that can prevent a page from being updated or listed in Google Search. Delisting is not a matter of ranking, but about whether a page is even in the search index.

Tim and myself disabled the mobile redirect for “Googlebot on Commons” through an emergency intervention on June 23rd. Referrals then began to come back, and kept rising for eleven weeks in a row, until reaching a 100% increase in Google-referrals. From a baseline of 3 million weekly pageviews up to 6 million. Google’s data on clickthroughs shows a similar increase from 1M to 1.8M “clicks”.^[9]

We reversed last year’s regression and set a new all-time high. We think there’s three reasons Commons reached new highs:

1. The redirect consumed half of the crawl budget, thus limiting how many pages could be crawled.^[10][11]
2. Google switched Commons to its new crawler some years before Wikipedia.^[12] The index had likely been shrinking for two years already.
3. Pages on Commons have a sparse link graph. Wikipedia has a rich network of links between articles, whereas pages on Commons represent a photo with an image description that rarely links to other files. This unique page structure makes it hard to discover Commons pages through recursive crawling without a sitemap.

Unifying our domains lifted a ceiling we didn’t know was there!

The MediaWiki software has a built-in sitemap generator, but we disabled this on Wikimedia sites over a decade ago.^[13] We decided to enable it for Commons and submitted it to Google on August 6th.^[14][15] Google has since indexed 70 million new pages for Commons, up 140% since June.^[9]

We also found that less than 0.1% of videos on Commons were recognised by Google as video watch pages (for the Google Search “Videos” tab). I raised this in a partnership meeting with Google Search, and it may’ve been a bug on their end. Commons started showing up in Google Videos a week later.^[16][17]

Link sharing UX

When sharing links from a mobile device, such link previously hardcoded the mobile domain. Links shared from a mobile device gave you the mobile site, even when received on desktop. The “Desktop” link in the footer of the mobile site pointed to the standard domain and disabled the standard-to-mobile redirect for you, on the assumption you arrived on the mobile site via the redirect. The “Desktop” link did not remember your choice on the mobile domain itself, and there existed no equivalent mobile-to-standard redirect for when you arrive there. This meant a shared mobile link always presented the mobile site, even after opting-out on desktop.

Everyone now shares the same domain which naturally shows the appropiate version.

There is a long tail of stable referrals from news articles, research papers, blogs, talk pages, and mailing lists that refer to the mobile domain. We plan to support this indefinitely. To limit operational complexity, we now serve these through a simple whole-domain redirect. This has the benefit of retroactively fixing the UX issue because old mobile links now redirect to the standard domain.^[18]

This resolves a long-standing bug with workarounds in the form of shared user scripts,^[19] browser extensions,^[20] and personal scripts.^[24]

Infrastructure load

After publishing an edit, MediaWiki instructs the Wikimedia CDN to clear the cache of affected articles (“purge”). It has been a perennial concern from SRE teams at WMF that our CDN purge rates are unsustainable. For every purge from MediaWiki core, the MobileFrontend extension would add a copy for the mobile domain.

After unifying our domains we turned off these duplicate purges, and cut the MediaWiki purge rate by 50%. Over the past weeks the Wikimedia CDN processed approximately 4 billion fewer purges a day. MediaWiki used to send purges at a baseline rate of 40K/second with spikes up to 300K/second, and both have been halved. Factoring in other services, the Wikimedia CDN now receives 20% to 40% fewer purges per second overall, depending on the edit activity.^[18]

Footnotes

1. T403510: Main rollout, Wikimedia Phabricator.
2. T405429: Detailed traffic stats and performance reports, Wikimedia Phabricator.
3. Running desktop and mobile versions of your site (2009), developers.google.com.
4. Mobile-first indexing (2016), developers.google.com.
5. Google makes mobile-first indexing default for new domains (2019), TechCrunch.
6. Mobile-first indexing has landed (2023), developers.google.com.
7. Mobile indexing vLast final final (Jun 2024), developers.google.com.
8. Mobile domain sunsetting RFC § Footnote: Wikimedia pageviews (Feb 2025), mediawiki.org.
9. T400022: Commons SEO review, Wikimedia Phabricator.
10. T54647: Image pages not indexed by Google, Wikimedia Phabricator.
11. Crawl Budget Management For Large Sites, developers.google.com.
12. I don’t have a guestimate for when Google switched Commons to its new crawler. I pinpointed May 2024 as the switch date for Wikipedia based on the new redirect impacting page load times (i.e. a non-zero fetch delay). For Commons, this fetch delay was already non-zero since at least 2018. This suggests Google’s old crawler linked mobile users to Commons canonical domain, unlike Wikipedia which it linked to the mobile domain until last year. Raw perf data: P73601.
13. History of sitemaps at Wikimedia by Tim Starling, wikitech.wikimedia.org.
14. T396684: Develop Sitemap API for MediaWiki
15. T400023: Deploy Sitemap API for Commons
16. T396168: Video pages not indexed by Google, Wikimedia Phabricator.
17. Google Videos Search results for commons.wikimedia.org.
18. T405931: Clean up and redirect, Wikimedia Phabricator.
19. Wikipedia:User scripts/List on en.wikipedia.org. Featuring NeverUseMobileVersion, AutoMobileRedirect, and unmobilePlus.
20. Redirector (10,000 users), Chrome Web Store.
21. How can I force my desktop browser to never use mobile Wikipedia (2018), StackOverflow.
22. Skip Mobile Wikipedia (726 users), Firefox Add-ons.
23. Search for “mobile wikipedia”, Firefox Add-ons.
24. Mobile domain sunsetting 2025 Announcement § Personal script workarounds (Sep 2025), mediawiki.org.

About this post

Featured image by PierreSelim, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Over the last months, the Release-Engineering-Team of the Wikimedia Foundation put efforts into making improvements and fixing issues in Wikimedia Phabricator, our main software planning software. Here is an incomplete list of achievements:

• Reduced visual complexity by removing or hiding unused functionality, such as the Differential code review tool and other tools, and the contact numbers panel in personal settings.
• Made message improvements and user interface tweaks, such as explicitly linking from the Global Search to the Advanced Search to raise awareness of its existence, and disallowing creating projects with an empty description.
• Phabricator reuses your confirmed MediaWiki email address during registration of a new Phabricator account - no more manually entering your email address.
• If you have multi-factor authentication (2FA) enabled for your account, re-authenticating skips the additional OAuth access dialog on mediawiki.org.
• When resolving a task and explicitly not setting a task assignee, no disruptive "Action with no effect" warning is displayed.
• Pppery contributed many fixes to our neglected internationalization and translation setup (thank you!). This also made Slovenian and Sicilian translations available in the language user settings.
• Fixed inaccurate data in project reports and fixed anonymous access to burndown charts.
• Transparent embedded image files have a checkered background.
• Each Phame blog links to its atom feed.
• Fixed various crashes and exceptions.
• Improvements to fight vandalism and made the corresponding checks more performant.
• API user queries include the MediaWiki username if you have sufficient permissions.
• Corrected some bad and missing data in our database (thanks to Valerio for the Bugzilla data!).
• Deployed the latest stable Phorge version from upstream - see the full upstream changelog.
• Reduced the number of custom lines of code in our Wikimedia downstream installation by contributing some of our changes to the upstream Phorge codebase and by removing obsolete or uncommon custom code in our installation ("technical debt").
• Fixed PHP8 compatibility issues in upstream and in custom downstream code.
• Developers and testers of our installation can use the "lipsum" script again to create projects.
• In the meantime, the WMF SRE team also upgraded the host machines from Debian Buster to Debian Bullseye.

We hope you enjoy your Wikimedia Phabricator experience!

As usual, your thoughts and questions are welcome on the Phabricator talk page.