The Left has taken over Wikipedia and stripped it of neutrality, says co-creator

Wikipedia has been taken over by Left-leaning volunteers and only offers a one-sided version of information, according to the online encyclopedia's co-founder.

Larry Sanger, an American philosopher who co-founded the website in 2001, said the online reference bible seemed to assume “that there is only one legitimate defensible version of the truth on any controversial question”.

Mr Sanger, 53, cited page entries on Joe Biden and his son Hunter as an example.

“The Biden article, if you look at it, has very little by way of the concerns that Republicans have had about him,” he told the website Unheard.

“So if you want to have anything remotely resembling the Republican point of view about Biden, you’re not going to get it from the article.”

Mr Sanger added that “very little” reference to scandals and allegations against the Bidens, for instance relating to their business dealings in Ukraine, could be found on Wikipedia.

Wikipedia is thought to be the world's fifth largest website in the world in terms of site visits, with more than six billion people viewing it each month.

The website relies on volunteers to edit and contribute to its pages.

But Mr Sanger said the website had strayed from its original mission, committing it to “neutrality” and allowing site contributors to have a free exchange of ideas.

“Now, especially over the last five years or so, Wikipedia has changed quite a bit,” he said.

“Now if you [public users] make any edit at all, you will be sternly warned if not just kicked out,” he said.

Asked if he thought Wikipedia could be trusted to give truthful information, he replied: “Well, it depends on what you think the truth is.”

He added that the website could be trusted to offer an “establishment” point of view.