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Wikipedia's Jimmy Wales snaps at podcast host
Founder and co-founder.
Two words. And both mean something.
But somehow, for Wikipedia’s Jimmy Wales, asking for a distinction between the two supposedly “doesn't matter.”
On Friday, the “shortest interview” on the German political show Jung & Naiv took place.
Jimmy Wales snapped at the host and stormed out of the studio while saying, “don't ask me stupid questions.”
WHAT HAPPENED ON THE JUNG & NAIV SHOW?
The German political show, Jung & Naiv, had a new guest – Jimmy Wales.
When Jung asked him to introduce himself, he said, “I am Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikipedia.”
Perhaps, the host knew the sensitivity of the long-standing debate between whether Jimmy Wales is really the “founder” of Wikipedia. So he probed.
He asked,"You're the founder or co-founder, because….?”
Jimmy responded while taking a sip of water, “I don't care. It's the dumbest question in the world.”
The host then alluded to the “dispute” of the founder position of Wikipedia.
Seemingly flustered, Wales clarified that there was no dispute.
He repeated,“I don't care. Say what you like. It doesn't matter.”
When Jung tried probing further, the tension became clear.
Jimmy Wales stated that there was no fact, it was all just “opinions.”
After Jung said,“For you, you're the founder?,” Wales said that he answered his question four times now.
He stormed off the interview and called over his shoulder, “don't ask me stupid questions.”
This exchange has gone viral on social media.
For years, Jimmy Wales has publicly discredited or at least, downplayed the involvement of Larry Sanger as Wikipedia's “co-founder.”
While Sanger claims to have introduced the wiki concept of the project, Wales dismissed it and says that it was actually done by him.
WHAT DID NETIZENS SAY
While some social media users called Jimmy Wales out, others thought that the host, Jung, wasn't very warm either.
“I don’t care” always translates to “I very much care. A lot,”one X user commented.
Another wrote, “Funny, his own Wikipedia pages says he’s the co-founder.”
Yet another user stated, “Jimmy Wales seems to be getting a lot of heat here, but I think the ownership for this breakdown really has to be held by the interviewer.
What went wrong:
- Very little warmth at the start.
- No rapport building or small talk (seems pointless, but is effective for trust building).
- Jumping into a sensitive question right away.”