A web3 clone of Wikipedia may help Russians, but it’s dividing the tech community
Decentralization can have drawbacks
Building a web3 Wikipedia
Proponents of Web3 argue thatblockchaincan eradicate censorship. Among the supporters areSwarm, anEthereum-based decentralized storage platform, andKiwix, an offline reader for online content.
The pair want to add a mirror version of Wikipedia to a peer-to-peer network that’s always available — even when internet access is restricted.
Kiwix says Wikipedia’s entire collection of 6 million articles with images can be compressed into just 80Gb, which could then be hosted on Swarm as a read-only snapshot.
Instead of storing the content on centralized servers, the data would be distributed across numerous nodes, which makes it censorship-resistant.
“The idea is that we split the big file into chunks, and those chunks are scattered across the network,” Swarm’s Antonio Gonzalo told TNW. “As a host, you don’t know exactly which files you’re hosting, which can prevent sudden takedowns.”
If the main domain was blocked, anyonerunning a node and connected to the network could still access and share the information. Users would cover thecosts via a built-in incentive system enforced through smart contracts.
Some foundations for the project have already been laid. At a March hackathon, participants createdread-only versions of Wikipediaandoffline search tools for the site.
Controlling the narrative
Russia isfar from the only countrythat’s tried to censor Wikipedia, but the Kremlin’s threats have provided a compelling use case for blockchain boosters.
The backers claim a web3 Wikipedia could provide provenance of facts, protection from authoritarian control, and financial compensation for contributors.
The vision has won support fromcryptoenthusiasts — but not everyone shares their excitement.
Molly White is one of the prominent skeptics. The Wikipedia editor, software engineer, and creator of the websiteWeb3 Is Going Just Greatwarns that paying contributors willdistort the site’s objectives.
“The majority of people contributing to Wikipedia are doing so out of a desire to improve an encyclopedic resource,”shetold the Verge. “With web3 you have a whole mix of motivations, including wanting to support a srupecific project, wanting to do good in various broader ways, and just wanting to make a lot of money. Those things can be in conflict a lot of the time.”
White points to another for-profit online encyclopedia based on blockchain:Everipedia. Seven years after launching, the site is largely comprised of content copied from Wikipedia, articles contributors wrote about themselves, and crypto spam. Everipedia also has a reputation forpublishing inaccurate informationabout tragic events.
These worries joinmore general concernsabout web3’s technical limitations, financial backers, and popularity with scammers.
Nonetheless, a decentralized Wikipedia could provide a useful service. It certainly sounds more appealing than a prospectivePutinipedia.
Story byThomas Macaulay
Thomas is a senior reporter at TNW. He covers European tech, with a focus on AI, cybersecurity, and government policy.Thomas is a senior reporter at TNW. He covers European tech, with a focus on AI, cybersecurity, and government policy.
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