The co-founder of Wikipedia, Jimmy Wales, will step down from the Guardian Media Group (GMG) board after joining over 12 months ago. This decision comes after Mr Wales decided to establish his own news company, Wikitribune.
The main objective of Wikitribune will be to provide “factual and neutral” news coverage, with 20 journalist planning to join the news cooperation. Furthermore, Mr Wales emphasised his concern around online fake news: “the news is broken and we can fix it.”
The news organisation will be funded mostly by donations, which is a similar model to the Guardian. The newspaper currently asks readers for voluntary contribution to become its supporter, in return they get various benefits.
According to the Guardian, it has struggled in recent years due to the decline of its print sales as a result of the increase of digital media, meaning people have free access to more news coverage today.
The GMG spokesman said, due to Mr Wales’s planned launch of Wikitribune he could no longer be part of the newspaper’s board.
The GMG spokesman further added:
“We welcome all efforts to combat the rise of fake news. Our rapid growth in traffic and Guardian membership show that the demand for independent, trusted and high-quality journalism is greater than ever.”
Mr Wales said: “I am a huge admirer of the Guardian and am honoured to have been involved as a member of the GMG board. I will continue to be an avid fan of their integrity for news and journalism.”
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