View source for Larry Sanger

{{short description|Co-founder of Wikipedia (born 1968)}}
{{pp-vandalism|small=yes}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox person
| name        = Larry Sanger
| image       = Larry Sanger 2023 edited.jpg
| alt         = Headshot of a bespectacled balding man in a chequered shirt facing the camera.
| caption     = Sanger in 2023
| birth_name  = Lawrence Mark Sanger
| birth_date  = {{birth date and age|mf=yes|1968|7|16}}
| birth_place = [[Bellevue, Washington|Bellevue]], [[Washington (state)|Washington]], U.S.
| education   = {{ubl | [[Reed College]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]]) | [[Ohio State University]] ([[Master of Arts|MA]], [[Doctor of Philosophy|PhD]]) }}
| occupation  = {{hlist|Internet project developer|philosopher}}
| children    = 2
| website     = {{URL|https://larrysanger.org}}
| known_for   = {{ubl | Co-founding Wikipedia and [[Nupedia]] | Founding [[Citizendium]] }}
| signature   = Larry_Sanger_Signature_from_the_Goldman_Collection.png
}}
'''Lawrence Mark Sanger''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|æ|ŋ|ər|audio=en-us-Sanger.oga}};<ref>{{YouTube|zTaY3mg06sU|Western History for Kids, Part 1 – ancient and medieval – Sanger Academy}}, video taken from Sanger's official educational YouTube channel, pronunciation confirmed around 0:10, accessed May 7, 2016</ref> born July 16, 1968) is an American Internet project developer and philosopher who co-founded [[Wikipedia]], along with [[Jimmy Wales]]. Sanger coined the name ''Wikipedia'' and provided initial drafts for many of its early guidelines, including the "[[Neutral point of view (Wikipedia)|Neutral point of view]]" and "[[Ignore all rules]]" policies. Prior to Wikipedia, he was the editor-in-chief of [[Nupedia]], another [[online encyclopedia]] and the predecessor of Wikipedia. He later worked on other encyclopedic projects, including ''[[Encyclopedia of Earth]]'', [[Citizendium]], and [[Everipedia]], and advised the nonprofit American political encyclopedia [[Ballotpedia]].<ref name="Knowledge 2019">{{Cite web |date=September 24, 2019 |title=About Dr. Larry Sanger |url=https://encyclosphere.org/larry |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210725021911/https://encyclosphere.org/larry |archive-date=July 25, 2021 |access-date=July 23, 2021 |publisher=Knowledge Standards Foundation |language=en-US}}</ref> Sanger's other interests include theology and philosophy such as [[epistemology]], [[early modern philosophy]], and [[ethics]].<ref name="Eisner2025" /> He taught philosophy at [[Ohio State University]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Abby |date=March 6, 2022 |title=Larry Sanger: Complete Biography, History, and Inventions |url=https://history-computer.com/larry-sanger-complete-biography/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230522192221/https://history-computer.com/larry-sanger-complete-biography/ |archive-date=May 22, 2023 |access-date=January 5, 2024 |website=History-Computer |language=en-US}}</ref>

While in college, Sanger began using the Internet for educational purposes and joined the online encyclopedia Nupedia as [[editor-in-chief]] in 2000. Disappointed with the slow progress of Nupedia, Sanger proposed using a [[wiki]] to solicit and receive articles to put through Nupedia's peer-review process; this change led to the development and launch of Wikipedia in 2001. Sanger continued to serve as Nupedia's editor-in-chief and as an active contributor to Wikipedia in its first year, but he was laid off and left the project in March 2002. Sanger's status as a co-founder of Wikipedia has been questioned by Wales,<ref>{{Cite web |date=June 19, 2023 |title=Transcript for Jimmy Wales: Wikipedia {{!}} Lex Fridman Podcast #385 |url=https://lexfridman.com/jimmy-wales-transcript/#chapter13_larry_sanger |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231014181329/https://lexfridman.com/jimmy-wales-transcript/#chapter13_larry_sanger |archive-date=October 14, 2023 |access-date=November 3, 2023 |website=lexfridman.com}}</ref> but is generally accepted.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Yam |first=Shing-Ching Jonathan |year=2013 |title=Decommercialization and anti-elitism: early years of Wikipedia 2001-2002 |url=https://universitypublications.net/ijas/0601/pdf/SPQ603.pdf |journal=International Journal of Arts & Sciences |volume=6 |issue=1 |quote=The Wales/Sanger split refers to the departure of co-founder Larry Sanger in 2002 (The Australian 2006). |via=universitypublications.net |archive-date=November 17, 2023 |access-date=November 3, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231117181510/http://universitypublications.net/ijas/0601/pdf/SPQ603.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Jankowski |first=Steve |date=August 6, 2023 |title=The Wikipedia imaginaire: a new media history beyond Wikipedia.org (2001–2022) |journal=Internet Histories |volume=7 |issue=4 |pages=333–353 |doi=10.1080/24701475.2023.2246261 |s2cid=260878150 |quote=When Wikipedia launched, its co-founders Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger followed this tradition when described it as  'the free encyclopedia'. |doi-access=free}}</ref>

Since Sanger's departure from Wikipedia, he has been critical of the project, describing it in 2007 as being "broken beyond repair".<ref name="Iain Thomson" /> He has argued that, despite its merits, Wikipedia lacks credibility and accuracy due to a lack of respect for expertise. Since 2020, he has also accused Wikipedia of having a [[Left-wing politics|left-wing]] and [[Liberalism|liberal]] [[Ideological bias on Wikipedia|ideological bias]] in its articles.<ref name="Tel20210716">{{Cite news |last=Sabur |first=Rozina |date=July 16, 2021 |title=The Left has taken over Wikipedia and stripped it of neutrality, says co-creator |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2021/07/16/wikipedia-dominated-left-wing-establishment-version-truth-co/ |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2021/07/16/wikipedia-dominated-left-wing-establishment-version-truth-co/ |archive-date=January 12, 2022 |access-date=December 2, 2021 |work=The Telegraph |language=en-GB |issn=0307-1235 |quote=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.}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref name="Sayers 2021" /> Sanger's effort to change Wikipedia was seen by some as part of a [[Right-wing politics|right-wing]] attack on Wikipedia.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Oremus |first=Will |date=2025-10-24 |title=A Wikipedia cofounder is fueling the right's campaign against it |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2025/10/24/wikipedia-larry-sanger-elon-musk/ |access-date=2025-11-03 |newspaper=The Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286 |archive-date=December 21, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251221125633/https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2025/10/24/wikipedia-larry-sanger-elon-musk/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Mak |first=Aaron |date=2025-10-02 |title=The speech wars come for Wikipedia |url=https://www.politico.com/newsletters/digital-future-daily/2025/10/02/the-speech-wars-come-for-wikipedia-00591844 |access-date=2025-11-03 |website=POLITICO |language=en}}</ref>

In 2006, Sanger founded Citizendium to compete with Wikipedia; in 2010, he stepped down as editor-in-chief, and in 2020, he left Citizendium entirely. In 2017, he joined [[Everipedia]] as [[chief information officer]] (CIO). He resigned in 2019, to establish the Knowledge Standards Foundation and the "encyclosphere". {{as of|2023}}, Sanger was serving as the executive director of the Knowledge Standards Foundation.<ref name="Knowledge 2019" /><ref name="Spence 2021">{{Cite news |last=Spence |first=Madeleine |date=August 1, 2021 |title=Larry Sanger: 'I wouldn't trust Wikipedia – and I helped to invent it' |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/wales/article/larry-sanger-i-wouldnt-trust-wikipedia-and-i-helped-to-invent-it-cflrhmdhx |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/em2br |archive-date=September 24, 2025 |access-date=August 1, 2021 |work=[[The Sunday Times]] |location=London |language=en |issn=0140-0460|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref name="Encyclosphere">{{Cite web |date=n.d. |title=Encyclosphere Team |url=https://encyclosphere.org/team |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230325163901/https://encyclosphere.org/larry |archive-date=March 25, 2023 |website=Encyclosphere |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Early life and education ==
Lawrence Mark Sanger was born in [[Bellevue, Washington]], on July 16, 1968.{{sfn |Anderson |2011 |p=20}} His father Gerry was a [[marine biologist]] who studied [[seabird]]s and his mother raised the children.<ref name="Spence 2021" /><ref name="Chris Lydgate">{{Cite magazine |last=Lydgate |first=Chris |date=June 2010 |title=Deconstructing Wikipedia |url=http://www.reed.edu/reed_magazine/june2010/features/deconstructing_wikipedia/index.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131101054851/http://www.reed.edu/reed_magazine/june2010/features/deconstructing_wikipedia/index.html |archive-date=November 1, 2013 |access-date=November 1, 2013 |magazine=Reed Magazine}}</ref> When he was seven years old, his family moved to [[Anchorage, Alaska]], where he grew up.{{sfn |Anderson |2011 |p=20}}<ref name="Marshall Poe" /> He was interested in philosophical topics at an early age and decided "to study philosophy and make it my life's work" at the age of 16.<ref name="Wade Roush" /><ref name="Alan_Boraas">{{Cite news |last=Boraas |first=Alan |date=September 2, 2006 |title=Hometown kid an Internet revolutionary |url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=AS&p_theme=as&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_text_search-0=Larry%20AND%20Sanger&s_dispstring=Larry%20Sanger%20AND%20section(all)%20AND%20date(9/2/2006%20to%209/2/2006)&p_field_date-0=YMD_date&p_params_date-0=date:B,E&p_text_date-0=9/2/2006%20to%209/2/2006) |url-access=subscription |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220318193745/http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=AS&p_theme=as&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_text_search-0=Larry%20AND%20Sanger&s_dispstring=Larry%20Sanger%20AND%20section%28all%29%20AND%20date%289%2F2%2F2006%20to%209%2F2%2F2006%29&p_field_date-0=YMD_date&p_params_date-0=date%3AB%2CE&p_text_date-0=9%2F2%2F2006%20to%209%2F2%2F2006%29 |archive-date=March 18, 2022 |access-date=March 25, 2007 |work=[[Anchorage Daily News]]}}</ref><ref name="Schwartz2015" />

[[File:Larry Sanger 1986.jpg|upright=0.7|thumb|alt=A teenage boy wearing a black suit with a blue tie smiles.|Sanger in 1986]]
In high school, Sanger participated in [[debate]], which, according to him, influenced his views on neutrality by exposing him to different issues and arguments from both sides:<ref name="Schwartz2015" />

{{Blockquote|text=And so I'd look up articles about those things, and I was always furious when I came across an article that failed to present one side fairly or at all. The worst instances were when [the author] would just come out and say what their position is. It just struck me as being really unfair.}}

Sanger graduated from high school in 1986 and attended [[Reed College]], [[academic major|majoring]] in philosophy.<ref name="Alan_Boraas" /> In college he became interested in the Internet and its potential as a publishing outlet.<ref name="Wade Roush">{{Cite news |last=Roush |first=Wade |date=January 1, 2005 |title=Larry Sanger's Knowledge Free-for-All |url=https://www.technologyreview.com/2005/01/01/231769/larry-sangers-knowledge-free-for-all/ |access-date=March 25, 2007 |work=[[Technology Review]] |archive-date=January 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220117160339/https://www.technologyreview.com/2005/01/01/231769/larry-sangers-knowledge-free-for-all/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Sanger set up a [[listserver]] as a medium for students and tutors to meet for tutoring and "to act as a forum for discussion of tutorials, tutorial methods, and the possibility and merits of a voluntary, free network of individual tutors and students finding each other via the Internet for education outside the traditional university setting".<ref name="Tutor-L">{{Cite web |last=Sanger |first=Larry |date=August 30, 1995 |title=Tutor-L: Higher education outside the universities |url=http://scout.wisc.edu/Projects/PastProjects/NH/95-09/95-09-01/0018.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091123051329/https://scout.wisc.edu/Projects/PastProjects/NH/95-09/95-09-01/0018.html |archive-date=November 23, 2009 |access-date=March 25, 2007 |website=Internet Scout |publisher=scout.wisc.edu}}</ref> He started and moderated a [[Libertarianism|libertarian]] philosophy discussion list, the Association for Systematic Philosophy.<ref name="Marshall Poe" /><ref name="Schwartz2015" /> In 1994, Sanger wrote a manifesto for the discussion group:{{Blockquote|The history of philosophy is full of disagreement and confusion. One reaction by philosophers to this state of things is to doubt whether the truth about philosophy can ever be known, or whether there is any such thing as the truth about philosophy. But there is another reaction: one may set out to think more carefully and methodically than one's intellectual forebears.<ref name="Marshall Poe">{{Cite news |last=Poe |first=Marshall |date=September 2006 |title=The Hive |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200609/wikipedia/2 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061110160534/http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200609/wikipedia/2 |archive-date=November 10, 2006 |access-date=March 25, 2007 |work=[[The Atlantic Monthly]]}}</ref>}}

Around 1994, Sanger met Jimmy Wales after subscribing to Wales' [[mailing list]] titled Moderated Discussion of [[Objectivism|Objectivist]] Philosophy (MDOP).<ref name="Schwartz2015">{{Cite news |last=Schwartz |first=Zach |date=November 11, 2015 |title=Wikipedia's Co-Founder Is Wikipedia's Most Outspoken Critic |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/wikipedias-co-founder-is-wikipedias-biggest-critic-511/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151114004055/http://www.vice.com/read/wikipedias-co-founder-is-wikipedias-biggest-critic-511 |archive-date=November 14, 2015 |work=[[Vice (magazine)#Website|Vice]]}}</ref> Sanger earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy from Reed in 1991, a Master of Arts from Ohio State University in 1995, and a Doctor of Philosophy from Ohio State University in 2000.<ref name="Glyn Moody" /> He completed a doctoral dissertation in philosophy and epistemology titled ''Epistemic Circularity: An Essay on the Problem of Meta-Justification''.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Morozov |first=Evgeny |first4=Click Here: The Folly of Technological Solutionism His latest podcast is “A Sense of |date=2009-11-05 |title=Edit This Page |url=https://www.bostonreview.net/articles/edit-page-wikipedia-evgeny-morozov/ |access-date=2025-10-04 |work=[[Boston Review]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite thesis |last=Sanger |first=Lawrence Mark |title=Epistemic circularity : an essay on the problem of meta-justification / |date=2000 |publisher=The Ohio State University |url=https://etd.ohiolink.edu/acprod/odb_etd/etd/r/1501/10?clear=10&p10_accession_num=osu1488196234910098 |language=en}}</ref> Beginning in 1998, he and a friend ran a website called "Sanger and Shannon's Review of Y2K News Reports", a resource for people such as managers of computer systems who were concerned about the [[year 2000 problem]].<ref name="Marshall Poe" />{{sfn |Lih |2009 |p=33}}

==Nupedia and Wikipedia==
{{Main|History of Wikipedia}}
[[File:Bomis-staff-summer-2000.jpg|thumb|alt=Ten people are standing in the rear while two people, Sanger among them to the viewer's right, are seated in the front.|Sanger (seated right) among the Bomis staff in mid-2000]]
[[Nupedia]] was a web-based encyclopedia whose articles were written by volunteer contributors possessing relevant subject matter expertise and reviewed by editors prior to publication, and were licensed as free content.{{sfn |Lih |2009 |p=35}} It was conceived by Jimmy Wales and underwritten by his company [[Bomis]].{{sfn |Anderson |2011 |pp=8–9}} Wales had interacted with Sanger on mailing lists.{{sfn |Anderson |2011 |p=31}} In January 2000, Sanger had e-mailed Wales and others about a potential "cultural news blog" project that would cover social and political issues that he had in mind after January 1, 2000, had passed and rendered his Y2K site obsolete. Wales replied with "Instead of doing that, why don't you come and work on this idea that I've had?", presented the idea of Nupedia to Sanger, and invited him to join the project.<ref name="Schwartz2015" />{{sfn |Lih |2009 |p=33}} Sanger was hired as Nupedia's editor-in-chief.{{sfn |Anderson |2011 |pp=8–9}} He began to oversee Nupedia in February 2000,{{sfn |Anderson |2011 |p=32}} developing a review process for articles and recruiting editors.{{sfn |Lih |2009 |pp=37–38}} Through working on Nupedia, Sanger "found that it was a fascinating problem to organize people online to create encyclopedias".<ref name="Schulz 2010" /> Articles were reviewed through Nupedia's email system before being posted on the site.{{sfn |Lih |2009 |p=38}}

Nupedia made very slow progress and was at a standstill at the end of 2000, causing consternation to Sanger and Wales,{{sfn |Lih |2009 |p=43}} with Sanger saying that "by the summer of 2000, it had become clear that the process we tested out [for making articles on Nupedia] was very slow."<ref name="Schwartz2015" /> In January 2001, Sanger proposed the creation of a [[wiki]] to speed article development,{{sfn |Lih |2009 |p=64}} which resulted in the launch of Wikipedia on January 15, 2001.{{sfn |Lih |2009 |p=64}} Wikipedia was initially intended as a collaborative wiki for which the public would write entries that would then be fed into Nupedia's review process.<ref name="Marshall Poe" /> However, the majority of Nupedia's experts and the Nupedia advisory board wanted little to do with the project,<ref name="Marshall Poe" /><ref name="Schwartz2015" /> with members of the Nupedia advisory board mailing list dismissing the idea of Wikipedia as being ridiculous.<ref name="Schwartz2015" />

The idea of using a wiki came when Sanger met up with his friend [[Ben Kovitz]] for dinner on January 2, 2001,<ref name="Schwartz2015" />{{sfn |Anderson |2011 |p=9}} when Sanger was first introduced to wiki software.<ref name="Glyn Moody">{{Cite news |last=Moody |first=Glyn |date=July 13, 2006 |title=This time, it'll be a Wikipedia written by experts |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2006/jul/13/media.newmedia |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070222023201/http://technology.guardian.co.uk/weekly/story/0,,1818630,00.html |archive-date=February 22, 2007 |access-date=March 25, 2007 |work=The Guardian |location=London}}</ref> Kovitz, whom Sanger had known from philosophy mailing lists,{{sfn |Lih |2009 |p=43}} was a computer programmer who had come across [[Ward Cunningham]]'s [[WikiWikiWeb|Wiki]].{{sfn |Lih |2009 |p=44}} Sanger was impressed with the possibilities offered by wikis and called Wales, who agreed to try it.{{sfn |Lih |2009 |pp=44–45}} Sanger originated the name "Wikipedia", chosen from "a long list of names", which he later said was "a silly name for what was at first a very silly project".<ref name="Schwartz2015" />{{sfn |Lih |2009 |p=45}}

Sanger created Wikipedia's first introductory pages and home pages, and invited the first few people to make contributions to the website, which was then called the Nupedia Wiki.<ref name="Schwartz2015" /> Within a few days of its launch, Wikipedia had outgrown Nupedia and a small community of editors had gathered.<ref name="Marshall Poe" /> Sanger served as Wikipedia's "chief organizer",{{sfn |Lih |2009 |p=138}} inviting new contributors and drafting early policy, including "[[Ignore all rules]]", "[[Wikipedia:Neutral point of view#History of NPOV|Neutral point of view]]", "[[WP:NOR|No original research]]", and "[[WP:V|Verifiability]]".{{sfn |Lih |2009 |p=112}} He embraced Wikipedia's encouragement of boldness among its editors, telling users to "not worry about messing up".{{sfn |Lih |2009 |p=113}} Sanger created the concept of "Brilliant prose", which evolved into [[WP:featured articles|featured articles]] as a way to showcase Wikipedia's highest-quality articles.<ref name="Wikipedia-l">{{Cite web |last=Sanger |first=Larry |date=January 22, 2001 |title=Wikipedia rocks! |url=https://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/wikipedia-l/2001-January/000000.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190620054240/https://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/wikipedia-l/2001-January/000000.html |archive-date=June 20, 2019 |access-date=August 8, 2019 |website=Wikimedia Foundation}}</ref>

Sanger soon grew disillusioned with Wikipedia,{{sfn |Lih |2009 |p=170}} saying by mid-2001 its community was being "overrun" by "trolls" and "[[Anarchism|anarchist]]-types", who were "opposed to the idea that anyone should have any kind of authority that others do not".<ref name="Richard Waters">{{Cite news |last=Waters |first=Richard |date=November 10, 2006 |title=Wikipedia stand-off in search for online truth |url=https://www.ft.com/content/3300554a-6d6a-11db-8725-0000779e2340 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071115115600/http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/3300554a-6d6a-11db-8725-0000779e2340.html |archive-date=November 15, 2007 |access-date=October 15, 2009 |work=Financial Times}}</ref> While such issues were not important to Sanger when Wikipedia was a source of articles for Nupedia, as it grew into an independent project he started to become more concerned about the community.{{sfn |Lih |2009 |p=171}} Sanger came into conflict with Wikipedia editors who did not appreciate his modes of organization and exercising authority, including The Cunctator, another active early editor.{{sfn |Lih |2009 |p=171}} Sanger responded to these conflicts by proposing a stronger emphasis on expert editors and giving certain contributors the authority to resolve disputes and enforce rules.<ref name="Richard Waters" /> He also asked to be given more respect and deference by Wikipedians, which backfired and led to an increase in friction between him and the community.{{sfn |Lih |2009 |p=172}}

Sanger was the only editorial employee of Wikipedia.<ref name="Sidener">{{Cite news |last=Sidener |first=Jonathan |date=September 23, 2006 |title=Wikipedia co-founder looks to add accountability, end anarchy |url=http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20060923/news_lz1n23wiki.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071017041126/http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20060923/news_lz1n23wiki.html |archive-date=October 17, 2007 |access-date=March 25, 2007 |work=[[The San Diego Union-Tribune]]}}</ref> In early 2002, Bomis announced the possibility of placing advertisements on Wikipedia, in part to pay for Sanger's employment,{{sfn |Lih |2009 |p=137}} but the project was opposed to any commercialization and the market for Internet advertising was small.<ref name="memoir2">{{Cite news |last=Sanger |first=Larry |date=April 19, 2005 |title=The Early History of Nupedia and Wikipedia, Part II |url=http://features.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/04/19/1746205&tid=95 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061108094801/http://features.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05%2F04%2F19%2F1746205&tid=95 |archive-date=November 8, 2006 |access-date=March 25, 2007 |work=[[SourceForge]] |publisher=[[Slashdot]]}}</ref> Sanger was laid off in February 2002{{sfn |Lih |2009 |p=136}}<ref name="Duval">{{Cite book |last=Duval |first=Jared |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UGf-3WVIiTYC |title=Next Generation Democracy: What the Open-Source Revolution Means for Power, Politics, and Change |date=2010 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1608194841 |page=80 |language=en |access-date=June 20, 2022}}</ref> after Bomis lost a grant in the [[Dot com crash|Dot-com crash]],<ref name="Spence 2021" /> and he resigned as editor-in-chief of Nupedia and chief organizer of Wikipedia on March 1.<ref name="my resignation">{{Cite web |last=Sanger |first=Larry |date=March 1, 2002 |title=My resignation{{snd}}Larry Sanger |url=http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/My_resignation--Larry_Sanger |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070430232059/http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/My_resignation--Larry_Sanger |archive-date=April 30, 2007 |access-date=March 25, 2007 |website=[[Wikimedia Foundation|Meta-Wiki]]}}</ref> Sanger said he ended his participation in Wikipedia and Nupedia as a volunteer because he could not do justice to the tasks as a part-timer,<ref name="my resignation" /> he was frustrated by sustained arguments,<ref name="Richard Waters" /> and while he cared about the project, it was "not something [he] would have chosen as a hobby" and he would rather spend time with family, "reading and writing philosophy, and playing fiddle."<ref name="my resignation" /> In a post to the [[Wikipedia community]], Sanger said that his departure from Nupedia might not be permanent if funds were found for it again in the future.<ref name="my resignation" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Duval |first=Jared |title=Next generation democracy : what the open-source revolution means for power, politics, and change |date=2010 |publisher=Bloomsbury |isbn=978-1608194841 |location=New York |pages=80 |oclc=701239310}}</ref>

Sanger attempted to revive Nupedia throughout 2002 as its activity petered out.<ref name="memoir2" /> He tried to find an organization that would take control of it because it appeared Bomis and Wales seemed uninterested in managing it. Sanger also inquired about purchasing the domain and other proprietary materials from Bomis.<ref name="memoir2" /> He said Nupedia's demise was not entirely due to the inherent inefficiencies in its review process.<ref name="memoir2" /> The Nupedia server crashed in September 2003 and the site was never relaunched.{{sfn |Reagle |2010 |p=6}}

===Status as Wikipedia co-founder===
{{Further|History of Wikipedia#Early roles of Wales and Sanger}}

Sanger's role in co-founding or organizing Wikipedia was periodically the subject of discussions within the community.<ref>{{Citation |title=Talk:Larry Sanger/Archive 1 |date=January 30, 2023 |work=Wikipedia |url=https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Talk:Larry_Sanger/Archive_1&oldid=1136362315 |access-date=August 21, 2023 |language=en}}</ref> It was also the subject of edits by Wales to Wikipedia articles in 2005, after which Sanger accused Wales of "rewriting history" by disregarding his involvement; Wales told ''[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]'' he only clarified details about Sanger's contribution to the project and removed factual errors, adding that he should not have done so.<ref name="Dan_Mitchell">{{Cite news |last=Mitchell |first=Dan |date=December 24, 2005 |title=Insider Editing at Wikipedia |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/24/technology/insider-editing-at-wikipedia.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150529192425/http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/24/technology/insider-editing-at-wikipedia.html |archive-date=May 29, 2015 |access-date=March 25, 2007 |work=The New York Times}}</ref><ref name="Evan Hansen">{{Cite magazine |last=Hansen |first=Evan |date=December 19, 2005 |title=Wikipedia Founder Edits Own Bio |url=https://www.wired.com/2005/12/wikipedia-founder-edits-own-bio/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080823134002/http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/news/2005/12/69880 |archive-date=August 23, 2008 |access-date=March 25, 2007 |magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]] |publisher=[[Wired News]]}}</ref> Wales later stated he had initially heard of the wiki concept from Bomis employee Jeremy Rosenfeld rather than Sanger.{{sfn |Lih |2009 |p=45}} He also characterized Sanger's claim to be a co-founder as "absurd" and stated, "I know of no one who was there at the company at the beginning who would think it anything other than laughable."<ref name="Bergstein">{{Cite news |last=Bergstein |first=Brian |author-link=Brian Bergstein |date=March 25, 2007 |title=Sanger says he co-started Wikipedia |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna17798723 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131005114203/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/17798723/ns/technology_and_science-tech_and_gadgets/t/sanger-says-he-co-started-wikipedia/ |archive-date=October 5, 2013 |access-date=March 25, 2007 |work=[[NBCNews.com]] |agency=Associated Press}}</ref>

On his personal website, Sanger posted several links to support his role as a co-founder.<ref name="Bergstein"/> As early as January 17, 2001, Sanger was cited as "Instigator of Nupedia's wiki" by active volunteer and chief copyeditor Ruth Ifcher,<ref name="RoseParks">{{Cite web |last=dhcp058.246.lvcm.com (signed as RoseParks, a pseudonym of Ifcher's) |date=January 17, 2001 |title=LarrySanger |url=https://reagle.org/joseph/2010/wp/redux/LarrySanger/979690096.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190807213027/https://reagle.org/joseph/2010/wp/redux/LarrySanger/979690096.html |archive-date=August 7, 2019 |access-date=August 7, 2019 |website=Wikipedia 10K Redux |publisher=Joseph Reagle}}</ref> and he was identified as a co-founder of Wikipedia in September 2001.<ref name="Links">{{Cite web |last=Sanger |first=Larry |title=My role in Wikipedia (links) |url=https://larrysanger.org/role-in-wikipedia/my-role-in-wikipedia-links/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190629232636/https://larrysanger.org/role-in-wikipedia/my-role-in-wikipedia-links/ |archive-date=June 29, 2019 |access-date=August 15, 2019 |website=LarrySanger.org}}</ref> Sanger has said he organized Wikipedia while Wales was mostly focused on [[Bomis.com]].<ref name="Wired News">{{Cite magazine |last=NewsAssignment.net |date=May 3, 2007 |title=Assignment Zero First Take: Wiki Innovators Rethink Openness |url=https://www.wired.com/techbiz/media/news/2007/05/assignment_zero_citizendium |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140328235925/http://www.wired.com/techbiz/media/news/2007/05/assignment_zero_citizendium |archive-date=March 28, 2014 |access-date=April 25, 2009 |magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]}}</ref><ref name="memoir1">{{Cite news |last=Sanger |first=Larry |date=April 18, 2005 |title=The Early History of Nupedia and Wikipedia: A Memoir |url=http://features.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/04/18/164213&tid=95&tid=149&tid=9 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090722235956/http://features.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05%2F04%2F18%2F164213&tid=95&tid=149&tid=9 |archive-date=July 22, 2009 |access-date=March 25, 2007 |work=[[SourceForge]] |publisher=[[Slashdot]]}}</ref>

==Criticism of Wikipedia==
{{main|Criticism of Wikipedia}}
Since his departure in 2002, Sanger has been [[Criticism of Wikipedia|critical of Wikipedia]], its policies and administrators, and the [[Wikimedia Foundation]].<ref name="Schwartz2015" /><ref name="Australian IT">{{Cite news |date=October 19, 2006 |title=Wikipedia founder sets up rival |url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/australian-it-old/wikipedia-founder-sets-up-rival/story-e6frgamx-1111112381852 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808154706/http://www.theaustralian.com.au/australian-it-old/wikipedia-founder-sets-up-rival/story-e6frgamx-1111112381852 |archive-date=August 8, 2014 |work=The Australian |agency=AFP}}</ref> In 2015, ''[[Vice (magazine)#Website|Vice]]'' referred to Sanger as "Wikipedia's Most Outspoken Critic".<ref name="Schwartz2015" />

===Accuracy, credibility and expertise===
{{See also|Reliability of Wikipedia}}
[[File:L Sanger.jpg|thumb|Sanger in 2006]]
In December 2004, writing for the [[Kuro5hin]] website, Sanger commented that Wikipedia is not considered credible by librarians, teachers, and academics because it lacks a formal review process and that the presence of trolls and "difficult people" discourages accredited specialists and people who are knowledgeable from contributing to Wikipedia. He also argued that Wikipedia's "root problem" is a "lack of respect for expertise".<ref name="Daniel H Pink">{{Cite magazine |last=Pink |first=Daniel H. |date=March 2005 |title=The Book Stops Here |url=https://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.03/wiki.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050304025027/http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.03/wiki.html |archive-date=March 4, 2005 |magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]}}</ref><ref name="Jettison">{{Cite news |last=Sanger |first=Larry |date=December 31, 2004 |title=Why Wikipedia Must Jettison Its Anti-Elitism |url=http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2004/12/30/142458/25 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050105021508/http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2004/12/30/142458/25 |archive-date=January 5, 2005 |publisher=[[Kuro5hin]]}}</ref>

In April 2007, Sanger stated Wikipedia was "still quite useful and an amazing phenomenon" but he had "come to the view that it is also broken beyond repair" with a range of problems "from serious management problems, to an often dysfunctional community, to frequently unreliable content, and to a whole series of scandals".<ref name="Iain Thomson">{{Cite news |last=Thomson |first=Iain |date=April 13, 2007 |title=Wikipedia 'broken beyond repair' says co-founder |url=http://www.itnews.com.au/News/78127,wikipedia-broken-beyond-repair-says-co-founder.aspx |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121222154606/http://www.itnews.com.au/News/78127,wikipedia-broken-beyond-repair-says-co-founder.aspx |archive-date=December 22, 2012 |publisher=iTnews}}</ref>

In September 2009, Sanger said from early on the activities of trolls on the website "was a real problem, and Jimmy Wales absolutely refused to do anything about it". Sanger described Wales as being a "fraud" and "liar" over the issue of who created Wikipedia. Wales responded to a query about the feud between the two men, stating: "I think very highly of Larry Sanger, and think that it is unfortunate that this silly debate has tended to overshadow his work."<ref name="Nicole Ferraro">{{Cite news |last=Ferraro |first=Nicole |date=October 9, 2009 |title=Wikipedia Co-Founder Speaks Out Against Jimmy Wales |url=http://www.internetevolution.com/author.asp?section_id=466&doc_id=182853 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091013012858/http://www.internetevolution.com/author.asp?section_id=466&doc_id=182853 |archive-date=October 13, 2009 |work=Internet Evolution |agency=UBM LLC}}</ref>

In a November 2015 interview with Zachary Schwartz for ''Vice'', Sanger expanded on his experiences with trolls on Wikipedia during the site's initial growth: "It was kind of stressful. I think it stressed out my wife more than me. The idea that there were people who were abusing me online just bothered her greatly." Sanger equated the trolls with modern-day "[[social justice warrior]]s"  (SJWs).<ref name="Schwartz2015" /> When asked by Schwartz what he would do differently if he started over with Wikipedia, Sanger said: "One thing that I would have done, could have done, and should have done right away would be to create a process whereby articles were approved by experts."<ref name="Schwartz2015" /> When asked what his thoughts were on Wikipedia in 2015, Sanger said: "I guess I'm moderately proud. I always sort of felt like we just got lucky with the right idea at the right time."<ref name="Schwartz2015" /> In a November 2016 interview with Alexandre Gilbert for ''[[The Times of Israel]]'', Sanger said that Wikipedia has "a problem with fairness and sound governance".<ref name="Gilbert 2016" />

=== Neutrality and ideological bias ===
{{See also|Ideological bias on Wikipedia}}
In a July 2010 interview with Kathryn Schulz from ''[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]'', Sanger said: "If you're talking about political biases, I actually think that that's one of Wikipedia's least-worst problems. It's really not as bad as the people at, say, [[Conservapedia]] seem to think. I do think that there is a liberal bias on most topics where such a bias is possible." Those individuals, according to Sanger, "who work the most on Wikipedia tend to be really comfortable with the most radically [[Egalitarianism|egalitarian]] views. And those people tend to be either liberals or libertarians." Sanger also argued that "I think the kind of biases that are in some ways more interesting and more pervasive have to do with individual biases not on political issues but on a host of very specific academic issues. An article can reflect the bias of a few people who just happen to be most motivated to work on it. This is a general problem with Wikipedia".<ref name="Schulz 2010">{{Cite news |last=Schulz |first=Kathryn |date=July 26, 2010 |title=This Interview Is A Stub: Wikipedia Co-Founder Larry Sanger on Being Wrong |url=https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2010/07/this-interview-is-a-stub-wikipedia-co-founder-larry-sanger-on-being-wrong.html |access-date=September 17, 2021 |work=Slate |archive-date=November 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211108023544/https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2010/07/this-interview-is-a-stub-wikipedia-co-founder-larry-sanger-on-being-wrong.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

In March 2014, Sanger stated that "In some fields and some topics, there are groups who 'squat' on articles and insist on making them reflect their own specific biases. There is no credible mechanism to approve versions of articles."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Geuss |first=Megan |date=March 25, 2014 |title=Wikipedia founder calls alt-medicine practitioners 'lunatic charlatans' |url=https://arstechnica.com/science/2014/03/wikipedia-founder-calls-alt-medicine-practitioners-lunatic-charlatans/ |access-date=June 14, 2022 |website=[[Ars Technica]] |language=en-us}}</ref> In December 2015, Sanger said that "Wikipedia itself might be thought to be committed to such a completely international neutrality, and in places, its policies have seemed to hold it to that utopian ambition. But of course it cannot be and it is not. The [[English Wikipedia]]'s articles about science most clearly betray its Western and especially Anglo-American provenance, and articles about, for example, philosophy are mostly about [[Western philosophy]]. I see nothing really wrong with that." Sanger also said that "My teenage ire at shamefully biased writers and editors found expression in Nupedia's neutrality policy, which in turn became Wikipedia's", calling himself "a zealot for neutrality".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sanger |first=Larry |date=December 30, 2015 |title=Why Neutrality |url=https://ballotpedia.org/Why_Neutrality |access-date=April 29, 2022 |website=[[Ballotpedia]] |language=en |archive-date=June 5, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220605063135/https://ballotpedia.org/Why_Neutrality |url-status=live }}</ref>

In December 2017, Sanger called Wikipedia's article on [[intelligent design]] "appallingly biased".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Klinghoffer |first=David |date=December 12, 2017 |title=Wikipedia Co-Founder Blasts 'Appallingly Biased' Wikipedia Entry on Intelligent Design |url=https://evolutionnews.org/2017/12/wikipedia-co-founder-calls-wikipedia-entry-on-intelligent-design-appallingly-biased/ |access-date=March 31, 2022 |website=[[Evolution News & Science Today]] |language=en-US}}</ref> In a May 2019 interview with Sophie Foggin of ''[[150Sec]]'', regarding the website's neutrality, Sanger said: "Wikipedia has long since decided to turn the other cheek when influential editors make articles speak with one point of view, when they dismiss unpopular views, or when they utterly fail to do justice to alternative approaches to a topic." Sanger also stated that Wikipedia "never did come up with a good solution" for "how to rein in the bad actors so that they did not ruin the project for everyone else" and that "Wikipedia is a broken system as a result".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Foggin |first=Sophie |date=May 23, 2019 |title='Wikipedia is a broken system', says co-founder Larry Sanger |url=https://150sec.com/wikipedia-is-a-broken-system-says-co-founder-larry-sanger/11453/ |access-date=February 8, 2021 |website=150sec |archive-date=December 23, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211223060145/https://150sec.com/wikipedia-is-a-broken-system-says-co-founder-larry-sanger/11453/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In a blog post in May 2020, Sanger described Wikipedia as "badly biased" and as favoring left-wing and liberal politics. In his opinion, portions of the [[Donald Trump]] Wikipedia article are "unrelentingly negative", while the [[Barack Obama]] article "completely fails to mention many well-known scandals". He listed other topics he argued are presented with a liberal and left-wing bias, including the topics of [[Hillary Clinton]], [[abortion]], [[drug legalization]], religion, and [[LGBT adoption]]. In particular, Sanger said that Wikipedia, in describing many of Trump's statements as "false", established the website's biases. Sanger commented in the blog post: "It is time for Wikipedia to come clean and admit that it has abandoned NPOV (i.e., neutrality as a policy)." Regarding Wikipedia's current neutrality policy, Sanger said that "it endorses the utterly bankrupt canard of journalistic '[[false balance]]', which is directly contradictory to the original neutrality policy. As a result, even as journalists turn to opinion and activism, Wikipedia now touts controversial points of view on politics, religion, and science".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Flood |first=Brian |date=May 21, 2020 |title=Wikipedia co-founder Larry Sanger says online encyclopedia scrapped neutrality, favors lefty politics |url=https://www.foxnews.com/media/wikipedia-co-founder-larry-sanger-says-online-dictionary-scrapped-neutrality-favors-lefty-politics |access-date=May 22, 2020 |publisher=Fox News |archive-date=October 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211026210054/https://www.foxnews.com/media/wikipedia-co-founder-larry-sanger-says-online-dictionary-scrapped-neutrality-favors-lefty-politics |url-status=live }}</ref>

In a February 2021 interview with [[Fox News]], Sanger stated that Wikipedia's "ideological and religious bias is real and troubling, particularly in a resource that continues to be treated by many as an unbiased reference work".<ref name="FoxLott">{{Cite news |last=Lott |first=Maxim |date=February 19, 2021 |title=Inside Wikipedia's leftist bias: socialism pages whitewashed, communist atrocities buried |url=https://www.foxnews.com/politics/wikipedia-bias-socialism-pages-whitewashed |access-date=February 21, 2021 |work=Fox News |archive-date=February 18, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210218233800/https://www.foxnews.com/politics/wikipedia-bias-socialism-pages-whitewashed |url-status=live }}</ref> In a February 2021 interview with [[Carrie Sheffield]] on [[Pluto TV]], Sanger criticized Wikipedia's coverage of [[socialism]], saying that "when schoolkids go, and they look up answers to questions about the meaning of 'socialism' ... they're going to find an explanation that completely ignores any conservative, libertarian, or critical treatment of the subject", "And that's really problematic. That's not education. That's propaganda." He argued that Wikipedia was originally "committed to neutrality" until "about 10 years ago" when "liberals or leftists made their march through the institutions ... and basically took [Wikipedia] over", adding that "They started getting rid of citations from conservative sources, even conservative sources that were cited in order to explain the conservative point of view. At least in some cases, that was the case, and more and more, certain points of view were castigated and labeled". When asked about Wikipedia's reaction to his criticism, Sanger said that "They ignore me" and that "They don't care what I say, and the feeling is mutual."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Roman |first=Carly |date=February 23, 2021 |title='That's propaganda': Wikipedia co-founder criticizes website's monitoring of 'socialism' page |url=https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/wikpedia-cofounder-criticizes-socialism-communism-pages-censorship |access-date=June 20, 2022 |website=[[Washington Examiner]] |language=en}}</ref>

In a July 2021 interview with Freddie Sayers of [[UnHerd|LockdownTV]], Sanger opined that Wikipedia is not trustworthy and that its contributors have a left-leaning bias.<ref name="Tel20210716" /><ref name="Sayers 2021" /><ref name="Aggarwal 2021" /> According to Sanger, Wikipedia's coverage of U.S. President [[Joe Biden]] contained "very little by way of the concerns that Republicans have had about him" or the [[Biden–Ukraine conspiracy theory|Ukraine allegations]].<ref name="Tel20210716" /><ref name="Aggarwal 2021">{{Cite web |last=Aggarwal |first=Mayank |date=July 16, 2021 |title=Nobody should trust Wikipedia, says man who invented Wikipedia |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/wikipedia-founder-larry-sanger-democrats-b1885138.html |access-date=September 17, 2021 |website=The Independent |quote=He argued that there should be at least a paragraph about the Ukraine scandal but there is very little of that. |archive-date=July 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210716075947/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/wikipedia-founder-larry-sanger-democrats-b1885138.html |url-status=live }}</ref> He further adds that since Wikipedia encourages the use of [[secondary sources]] instead of [[primary sources]], Wikipedia's content is heavily influenced by coverage from center-left-wing media outlets, saying that "You can't cite the ''[[Daily Mail]]'' at all. You can't cite [[Fox News]] on socio-political issues either. It's banned. So what does that mean? It means that if a controversy does not appear in the mainstream center-Left media, then it's not going to appear on Wikipedia."<ref name="Sayers 2021">{{Cite podcast |url=https://unherd.com/thepost/wikipedia-co-founder-i-no-longer-trust-the-website-i-created/ |title=Wikipedia co-founder: I no longer trust the website I created |website=UnHerd |publisher=UnHerd |last=Sayers |first=Freddie |date=July 14, 2021 |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-date=May 27, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220527081827/https://unherd.com/thepost/wikipedia-co-founder-i-no-longer-trust-the-website-i-created/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Despite having a neutrality policy, he says that the viewpoint of Wikipedia articles represent the consensus viewpoints and that users are prohibited from adding counter-arguments to established views, which would help create more neutral articles.<ref name="Sayers 2021" /> He argued that Wikipedia can give a "reliably establishment point of view on pretty much everything" and that "if only one version of the facts is allowed then that gives a huge incentive to wealthy and powerful people to seize control of things like Wikipedia in order to shore up their power. And they do that."<ref name="Aggarwal 2021" />

In a July 22, 2021, interview with [[Tucker Carlson]] on Fox News, Sanger said that Wikipedia allowing anonymous contributors had resulted in the website being taken over by criminal bodies, as well as by corporations and governments. Sanger also said that "I don't know that there is a way to fix Wikipedia within Wikipedia. It's an institutionally conservative place".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Creitz |first=Charles |date=July 22, 2021 |title=Wikipedia co-founder says he's 'embarrassed' over politicization of his creation |url=https://www.foxnews.com/media/wikipedia-founder-embarrassed-politicization-site-encyclopedia |access-date=July 23, 2021 |website=Fox News |language=en-US |archive-date=July 23, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210723184255/https://www.foxnews.com/media/wikipedia-founder-embarrassed-politicization-site-encyclopedia |url-status=live }}</ref>

In an August 2021 interview with ''[[The Sunday Times]]'' of London, Sanger objected to Wikipedia's description of [[alternative medicine]]s, such as [[homeopathy]], as "[[pseudoscience]]". He believed such a definition lacked true neutrality. Sanger also argued that "If you don't kowtow to the right people, you won't even be allowed to participate." Of Wikipedia as a whole, he said: "I advise against using it, even to conscientious students."<ref name="Spence 2021" /> Of Jimmy Wales' role in Wikipedia, Sanger said that: "[There was] this kind of [[idealism]] that Jimmy Wales had ... that if you just open up the encyclopaedia to anybody, then because people are generally good, they will do the right thing. I think perhaps he still has that view. But frankly, that really wasn't ever my view. I was always a bit worried about what might happen if ideologues took over as naturally they would want to if it was at all successful. I think that actually is what happened."<ref name="Spence 2021" /> According to ''The Sunday Times'', Wikipedia denied accusations from Sanger of having a particular political bias, with a spokesperson for the encyclopedia saying that third-party studies have shown that its editors come from a variety of ideological viewpoints and that "As more people engage in the editing process on Wikipedia, the more neutral articles tend to become".<ref name="Spence 2021" />

In a March 2022 interview with [[Fox Nation]], Sanger once more said that Wikipedia had abandoned its neutrality policy and that "the kinds of people that are allowed to have any influence on Wikipedia have been narrowed down greatly to essentially people who agree with the establishment left." In his opinion: "The left, frankly, is relentless when it comes to stating their point of view and using the organs of mass media—and Wikipedia is part of their mass media I think—to shape the world". Sanger also said that Wikipedia originally had a strong commitment to neutrality, saying: "We promulgated a policy, the neutrality policy. And it was very clear in the beginning. And I think I really hammered it a lot. In the two years that I was with the organization, I really drove that neutrality policy. And I articulated a defense."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Halon |first=Yael |date=March 30, 2022 |title=Wikipedia co-founder says left's 'relentless' takeover of mass media ruined the website he helped build |url=https://www.foxnews.com/media/wikipedia-co-founder-political-bias-larry-sanger |access-date=March 31, 2022 |website=Fox News |language=en-US |archive-date=May 13, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220513193115/https://www.foxnews.com/media/wikipedia-co-founder-political-bias-larry-sanger |url-status=live }}</ref>

Sanger expressed support for a proposal by the conservative think tank [[Heritage Foundation]] to [[Doxing|dox]] and "target" Wikipedia editors they consider to be anti-Semitic, saying, "There does, of course, need to be some accountability for Wikipedia editors. For one thing, admins and those with significant authority in the system should be as easily [[Name and shame|named and shamed]] as any ordinary journalist".<ref name="Murphy-2025">{{Cite news |last=Murphy |first=Margi |date=March 7, 2025 |title='Edit Wars' on Middle East Page Raise Tensions on Wikipedia |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-03-07/wikipedia-editors-struggle-to-moderate-conflict-in-gaza |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250525175510/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-03-07/wikipedia-editors-struggle-to-moderate-conflict-in-gaza |archive-date=25 May 2025 |access-date=April 26, 2025 |work=[[Bloomberg News]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Larry Sanger |date=12 January 2025 |title=comment 6097 |url=https://sangerfeed.org/6097 |website=sangerfeed.org}}</ref>

{{Anchor|Nine Theses}}
In September 2025, Sanger published a list of proposed changes to Wikipedia titled "''The Nine Theses''" on his blog and his Wikipedia user page.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Notheis |first=Asher |date=2025-09-30 |title=Musk xAI working on 'Grokipedia' after Wikipedia co-founder spotlights site's blacklist |url=https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/technology/3830983/musk-xai-grokipedia-wikipedia-co-founder-spotlights-blacklist/ |access-date=2025-10-01 |website=Washington Examiner |language=en-US |archive-date=January 8, 2026 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260108201200/https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/technology/3830983/musk-xai-grokipedia-wikipedia-co-founder-spotlights-blacklist/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last= |first= |title='I Founded Wikipedia. Here's How to Fix It.' Plus. . . |url=https://www.thefp.com/p/i-founded-wikipedia-heres-how-to |access-date=2025-10-12 |website=www.thefp.com |language=en |archive-date=May 7, 2026 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/6CNCI |url-status=live }}</ref> Sanger was interviewed about his critiques on the [[Tucker Carlson]] podcast, where he commented on what he saw as the degrading of neutrality policies and the "blacklisting" of certain conservative sources. He also claimed that intelligence agencies like the [[CIA]] may have influenced some direction or content on Wikipedia.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /><ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> Sanger's proposals were received well by members of the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican party]] and [[Second Trump administration|second Trump administration]], including [[David Sacks]] and [[Elon Musk]], with the latter announcing [[Grokipedia]] the same day he shared and praised Sanger's proposals.<ref name=":0" /> Reception was mostly negative among Wikipedia's editing community, particularly towards Sanger's proposal to require editors with advanced permissions to reveal their real life identities.<ref name=":1" />

===Adult content===
{{main|Reporting of child pornography images on Wikimedia Commons}}

In April 2010, Sanger sent a letter to the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] (FBI) about his concern that [[Wikimedia Commons]] was hosting [[child pornography]] and later clarified the object of his concern was "[[Obscenity|obscene]] visual representations of the abuse of children" and not photographs.<ref name="BBC News">{{Cite news |date=May 10, 2010 |title=Wikimedia pornography row deepens as Wales cedes rights |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10104946 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100618192131/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/10104946.stm |archive-date=June 18, 2010 |access-date=May 19, 2010 |work=BBC News}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Metz |first=Cade |date=May 9, 2010 |title=Jimbo Wales exiles 'porn' from Wikiland |url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/05/09/wikimedia_pron_purge/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101203045504/http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/05/09/wikimedia_pron_purge/ |archive-date=December 3, 2010 |access-date=October 9, 2010 |work=The Register}}</ref> Sanger said he felt it was his "civic duty" to report the images.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Farrell |first=Nick |date=April 29, 2010 |title=Wikipedia denies child abuse allegations: Co-founder grassed the outfit to the FBI |url=http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/1603521/wikipedia-denies-child-abuse-allegations |url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121003064316/http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/1603521/wikipedia-denies-child-abuse-allegations |archive-date=October 3, 2012 |access-date=October 9, 2010 |work=The Inquirer}}</ref> Critics accused Sanger of having an ulterior motive for reporting the images, noting he was still in charge of the faltering Citizendium project and said that publicizing the accusations was unnecessary.<ref name="Masnick">{{Cite web |last=Masnick |first=Mike |date=April 29, 2010 |title=Disgruntled Ex-Wikipedia Guy, Larry Sanger, Accuses Wikipedia Of Distributing Child Porn |url=https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100428/1153439220.shtml |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190817190615/https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100428/1153439220.shtml |archive-date=August 17, 2019 |access-date=August 17, 2019 |website=TechDirt}}</ref> In 2012, Sanger told [[Fox News]] that he worked with NetSpark<!--NetSpark Ltd. aka Netspark or NetSpark, Israel; not NetSpark IP and Telecom, Dallas--> to get them to donate or heavily discount its pornographic image [[Internet filter|filtering technology]] for use on Wikipedia. He said that NetSpark attempted to contact the [[Wikimedia Foundation]] in 2012 but received no response.<ref name="Chiaramonte">{{Cite news |last=Chiaramonte |first=Perry |date=September 10, 2012 |title=Exclusive: Wikipedia ignores solution to rampant porn problem |url=https://www.foxnews.com/tech/exclusive-wikipedia-ignores-solution-to-rampant-porn-problem/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130618230824/http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2012/09/10/wikipedia-slow-to-filter-graphic-imagery-from-site/ |archive-date=June 18, 2013 |access-date=November 19, 2013 |publisher=[[Fox News]]}}</ref> In a subsequent interview with [[TechCrunch|TechCrunch TV]], Sanger criticized Wikipedia for containing too much pornography that children could access and said that he did not regret leaving Wikipedia.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Moretti |first=Marcus |date=June 6, 2012 |title=This Wikipedia Cofounder Thinks The Site Has Too Much Porn, And He Doesn't Regret Quitting |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/wikipedia-cofounder-larry-sanger-porn-2012-6 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210723220212/https://www.businessinsider.com/wikipedia-cofounder-larry-sanger-porn-2012-6 |archive-date=July 23, 2021 |access-date=July 23, 2021 |website=Business Insider |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Later activities==
===Citizendium===
{{Main|Citizendium}}

[[File:Citizendium 2018.png|alt=A screenshot of a webpage with a layout similar to Wikipedia's, but with a bright green banner imploring donations in the central bottom left.|thumb|A screenshot of Citizendium's homepage in 2018]]

At the [[Wizards of OS]] conference in September 2006, Sanger announced the launch of a new wiki-based encyclopedia called Citizendium—short for "citizens' [[compendium]]"—as a [[Fork (software development)|fork]] of Wikipedia.{{sfn |Lih |2009 |p=211}} The objective of the fork was to address perceived flaws in the way Wikipedia functions; anonymous editing was disallowed, all users were required to use their [[Legal name|real names]],{{sfn |Lih |2009 |p=190}} and there was a layer of experts who had extra authority.{{sfn |Lih |2009 |p=211}} It was an attempt by Sanger to establish a credible online encyclopedia based on scholarship,<ref name="Nate Anderson" /> aiming to bring more accountability and academic rigor to articles.<ref name="Jennifer LeClaire">{{Cite news |last=LeClaire |first=Jennifer |date=March 27, 2007 |title=Wikipedia Cofounder Launches Citizendium |url=http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=13100C1ES8F1&full_skip=1 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110516210159/http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=13100C1ES8F1&full_skip=1 |archive-date=May 16, 2011 |access-date=March 27, 2007 |publisher=NewsFactor Network}}</ref><ref name="Neha Tiwari">{{Cite news |last=Tiwari |first=Neha |date=April 5, 2007 |title=Wikipedia today, Citizendium tomorrow |url=http://news.cnet.com/Wikipedia+today%2C+Citizendium+tomorrow/2008-1082_3-6173499.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140304234154/http://news.cnet.com/Wikipedia-today%2C-Citizendium-tomorrow/2008-1082_3-6173499.html |archive-date=March 4, 2014 |access-date=April 5, 2007 |publisher=[[CNET]]}}</ref> The site attempted to implement an expert review process and experts tried to reach a decision in disputes that could not be resolved by consensus.<ref name="Jason Z Cohen">{{Cite news |last=Cohen |first=Jason Z |date=March 3, 2008 |title=Citizendium's Larry Sanger: Experts Make It Better |url=http://www.linuxinsider.com/rsstory/61983.html?welcome=1205003304&welcome=1205003861&wlc=1234584689&wlc=1235641480 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110517112405/http://www.linuxinsider.com/rsstory/61983.html?welcome=1205003304&welcome=1205003861&wlc=1234584689&wlc=1235641480 |archive-date=May 17, 2011 |access-date=March 8, 2008 |work=LinuxInsider |publisher=ECT News Network}}</ref>

Sanger predicted a rapid increase in Citizendium's traffic at its first anniversary in 2007.<ref name="Anderson">{{Cite news |last=Anderson |first=Nate |date=November 21, 2007 |title=Larry Sanger says "tipping point" approaching for expert-guided Citizendium wiki |url=https://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20071121-larry-sanger-says-tipping-point-approaching-for-expert-guided-citizendium-wiki.html?rel |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080104012952/http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20071121-larry-sanger-says-tipping-point-approaching-for-expert-guided-citizendium-wiki.html?rel |archive-date=January 4, 2008 |access-date=November 21, 2007 |publisher=Ars Technica}}</ref> After a burst of initial work, however, the site went into decline and most of the experts were not retained.<ref name="Timothy Lee" /> In 2011, ''[[Ars Technica]]'' reporter Timothy B. Lee said Citizendium was "dead in the water".<ref name="Timothy Lee" /> Lee noted that Citizendium's late start was a disadvantage and that its growth was hindered by an "unwieldy editing model".<ref name="Timothy Lee">{{Cite news |last=Lee |first=Timothy B. |date=October 27, 2011 |title=Citizendium turns five, but the Wikipedia fork is dead in the water |url=https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2011/10/five-year-old-wikipedia-fork-is-dead-in-the-water/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131023062138/http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2011/10/five-year-old-wikipedia-fork-is-dead-in-the-water/ |archive-date=October 23, 2013 |access-date=October 22, 2013 |publisher=Ars Technica}}</ref> In 2014, the number of Citizendium contributors was under 100 and the number of edits per day was about "a dozen or so" according to [[Winthrop University]]'s Dean of Library Services.<ref name="Herring">{{Cite book |last=Mark Y. Herring |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-JmdAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA52 |title=Are Libraries Obsolete?: An Argument for Relevance in the Digital Age |publisher=[[McFarland & Company]] |year=2014 |isbn=978-0786473564 |edition=1 |pages=52 |access-date=October 3, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150415232302/http://books.google.com/books?id=-JmdAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA52 |archive-date=April 15, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> By April 2026, Citizendium had about 16,400 articles, 145 of which had undergone expert review and were classified as "citable."<ref>[http://en.citizendium.org/wiki/Welcome_to_Citizendium Citizendium front page] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161013014818/http://en.citizendium.org/wiki/Welcome_to_Citizendium |date=October 13, 2016 }}, accessed March 29, 2026</ref>

Sanger, who in early 2007 announced he did not intend to head Citizendium indefinitely,<ref name="Nate Anderson">{{Cite news |last=Anderson |first=Nate |date=February 25, 2007 |title=Citizendium: building a better Wikipedia |url=https://arstechnica.com/articles/culture/citizendium.ars |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070324225040/http://arstechnica.com/articles/culture/citizendium.ars |archive-date=March 24, 2007 |access-date=March 25, 2007 |publisher=Ars Technica}}</ref> effectively ceased to edit it in early 2009, although an announcement confirming this was not made until July 30, 2009, on the Citizendium-l [[mailing list]].<ref name="Absence">{{Cite news |last=Sanger |first=Larry |date=July 30, 2009 |title=[Citizendium-l&#93; My recent absence |url=https://lists.purdue.edu/pipermail/citizendium-l/2009-July/001418.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720034117/https://lists.purdue.edu/pipermail/citizendium-l/2009-July/001418.html |archive-date=July 20, 2011 |access-date=July 30, 2009 |work=Citizendium |df=mdy-all}}</ref> He stepped down as editor-in-chief of Citizendium on September 22, 2010, but said he would continue to support the project.<ref name="CZ Charter Ratified">{{Cite news |last=Sanger |first=Larry |date=September 22, 2010 |title=Citizendium Charter Ratified |url=http://blog.citizendium.org/?p=578 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725172912/http://blog.citizendium.org/?p=578 |archive-date=July 25, 2011 |access-date=December 17, 2010 |work=[[Citizendium|Citizendium blog]]}}</ref> On July 2, 2020, Sanger wrote that he had transferred legal ownership of the Citizendium domain name to Pat Palmer, saying that Citizendium had "stopped being 'my' project a long time ago. But until this morning, I still owned the domain name."<ref name="Transfer">{{Cite web |title=Forum Talk:Technical Issues |url=https://en.citizendium.org/wiki/Forum_Talk:Technical_Issues#Citizendium_ownership_change |access-date=July 6, 2020 |website=Citizendium |archive-date=March 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220309001255/https://en.citizendium.org/wiki/Forum_Talk:Technical_Issues#Citizendium_ownership_change |url-status=live }}</ref> Sanger refused to recognize [[women's studies]] as a top-level category on Citizendium, calling it too "[[Political correctness|politically correct]]". Sanger later said that "it wasn't about women's studies in particular", but about "too much overlap with existing groups".<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Cooke |first=Richard |date=February 17, 2020 |title=Wikipedia Is the Last Best Place on the Internet |url=https://www.wired.com/story/wikipedia-online-encyclopedia-best-place-internet/ |access-date=June 19, 2022 |magazine=Wired |language=en-US |issn=1059-1028 |archive-date=December 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221217081500/https://www.wired.com/story/wikipedia-online-encyclopedia-best-place-internet/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Other projects===
Sanger has been involved with several other [[online encyclopedia]] projects.<ref name=Sidener/> In 2005, he joined the [[Digital Universe|Digital Universe Foundation]]{{sfn |Lih |2009 |p=210}} as Director of Distributed Content Programs.<ref name="Daniel Terdiman">{{Cite news |last=Terdiman |first=Daniel |date=January 6, 2006 |title=Wikipedia's co-founder eyes a Digital Universe |url=http://news.cnet.com/Wikipedias+co-founder+eyes+a+Digital+Universe/2008-1082_3-6011487.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130817030300/http://news.cnet.com/Wikipedias-co-founder-eyes-a-Digital-Universe/2008-1082_3-6011487.html |archive-date=August 17, 2013 |access-date=March 25, 2007 |publisher=[[CNET]]}}</ref> He was a key organizer of the [[Digital Universe Encyclopedia]] web project that was launched in early 2006.<ref name="Digital_Universe">{{Cite news |date=January 17, 2006 |title=Digital Universe Seeks to Become Free 'PBS of the Web' |url=http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/01-17-2006/0004262149&EDATE= |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070302124046/http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=%2Fwww%2Fstory%2F01-17-2006%2F0004262149&EDATE= |archive-date=March 2, 2007 |access-date=March 25, 2007 |work=[[PR Newswire]] |publisher=[[Digital Universe]]}}</ref><ref name="Contributor: Sanger">{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Contributor: Lawrence Sanger |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopedia of Earth]] |publisher=[[Digital Universe]] |url=http://www.eoearth.org/contributor/Lsanger |access-date=March 25, 2007 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090111105937/http://www.eoearth.org/contributor/Lsanger |archive-date=January 11, 2009}}</ref> The Digital Universe encyclopedia recruited recognized experts to write articles and to check user-submitted articles for accuracy.<ref name="Terdiman" /> The first part of the project was the expert-written and -edited ''[[Encyclopedia of Earth]]''.<ref name="Terdiman">{{Cite news |last=Terdiman, Daniel |date=December 19, 2005 |title=Wikipedia alternative aims to be 'PBS of the Web' |url=http://news.cnet.com/Wikipedia+alternative+aims+to+be+PBS+of+the+Web/2100-1038_3-5999200.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160131080644/http://www.cnet.com/news/wikipedia-alternative-aims-to-be-pbs-of-the-web/ |archive-date=January 31, 2016 |access-date=March 25, 2007 |publisher=[[CNET]]}}</ref><ref name="Encyclopedia of Earth">{{Cite encyclopedia |title=About the EoE |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopedia of Earth]] |publisher=[[Digital Universe]] |url=http://www.eoearth.org/topics/view/63435/ |access-date=March 25, 2007 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110129182210/http://www.eoearth.org/topics/view/63435/ |archive-date=January 29, 2011}}</ref> Sanger later felt the pace of content production at the Foundation was too slow for him; he proposed open content to help speed development but the proposal was rejected.{{sfn |Lih |2009 |p=211}}

Sanger has worked at the WatchKnowLearn project, a non-profit organization that focuses on educating young children using videos and other media on the web.<ref name="Paul Sawers">{{Cite web |last=Sawers |first=Paul |date=November 19, 2011 |title=Larry Sanger on co-founding Wikipedia and how online education could change the world |url=https://thenextweb.com/insider/2011/11/19/larry-sanger-on-co-founding-wikipedia-and-how-online-education-could-change-the-world/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111121034100/http://thenextweb.com/insider/2011/11/19/larry-sanger-on-co-founding-wikipedia-and-how-online-education-could-change-the-world/ |archive-date=November 21, 2011 |access-date=January 8, 2011 |publisher=The Next Web}}</ref> It is funded by grants, philanthropists, and the Community Foundation of Northwest Mississippi.<ref name="Owen Lei">{{Cite news |last=Lei |first=Owen |date=October 28, 2011 |title=CEO hits road to spread word about non-profit 'YouTube for teachers' |url=http://www.king5.com/news/education/CEO-hits-road-to-spread-word-about-YouTube-for-teachers-132660568.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131109190001/http://www.king5.com/news/education/CEO-hits-road-to-spread-word-about-YouTube-for-teachers-132660568.html |archive-date=November 9, 2013 |access-date=November 9, 2013 |publisher=King Broadcasting Company}}</ref> Sanger headed the development of WatchKnowLearn from 2008 to 2010.<ref name="EPIC 2020">{{Cite news |date=November 2, 2011 |title=WatchKnowLearn |url=http://epic2020.org/online-courses/watchknowlearn/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131112201946/http://epic2020.org/online-courses/watchknowlearn/ |archive-date=November 12, 2013 |access-date=October 11, 2013 |publisher=EPIC 2020}}</ref> It consists of a repository of educational videos for kindergarten to the 12th grade.<ref name="Tomaszewski">{{Cite news |last=Tomaszewski |first=Jason |year=2013 |title=Site Review: Watch-Know-Learn |url=http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/site-reviews/watch-know-learn.shtml |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131113192726/http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/site-reviews/watch-know-learn.shtml |archive-date=November 13, 2013 |access-date=November 13, 2013 |publisher=Education World}}</ref> In February 2013, it ranked as the top search result among educational videos on [[Google Search|Google's search engine]] and attracted over six million [[Pageview|page views]] each month.<ref name="Long">{{Cite news |last=Lee Long, Robert |date=February 16, 2013 |title=WatchKnowLearn.org No. 1 |url=http://desototimes.com/articles/2013/02/16/news/doc511ee765716f1936535403.txt |access-date=November 9, 2013 |publisher=Desoto Times Tribune}}</ref> In 2010 and 2011, he continued developing a web-based reading-tutorial application for beginning readers, which was launched as Reading Bear in 2012.<ref name="Sawers">{{Cite news |last=Sawers |first=Paul |date=November 2, 2011 |title=Wikipedia co-founder launches Reading Bear, an online phonics tutorial for kids |url=https://thenextweb.com/media/2011/11/02/wikipedia-co-founder-launches-reading-bear-an-online-phonics-tutorial-for-kids/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130529224940/http://thenextweb.com/media/2011/11/02/wikipedia-co-founder-launches-reading-bear-an-online-phonics-tutorial-for-kids/ |archive-date=May 29, 2013 |access-date=October 9, 2013 |publisher=The Next Web, Inc.}}</ref> It uses the principles of [[phonics]] and multimedia presentations such as videos, PowerPoint presentations, and ebooks to teach pronunciation to children.<ref name="Sawers" /> It also aims to teach the meaning and context of each word.<ref name="Sawers" />

In February 2013, Sanger announced a project; a crowdsourced news portal called Infobitt; saying on Twitter, "My new project will show the world how to crowdsource high-quality content—a problem I've long wanted to solve. Not a wiki."<ref name="Kevin Morris 2013">{{Cite news |last=Morris |first=Kevin |date=February 13, 2013 |title=Wikipedia cofounder Larry Sanger on his next revolution |url=http://www.dailydot.com/news/larry-sanger-wikipedia-new-crowdsourcing-venture/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130217054853/http://www.dailydot.com/news/larry-sanger-wikipedia-new-crowdsourcing-venture/ |archive-date=February 17, 2013 |access-date=February 14, 2013 |publisher=The Daily Dot}}</ref> The site, which aimed to be a crowdsourced [[news aggregator]], went online in December 2014<ref name="Walker2014">{{Cite web |last=Walker, Lauren |date=December 16, 2014 |title='Wikipedia for News' Becomes Open to the Public |url=http://www.newsweek.com/wikipedia-news-becomes-open-public-292613 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141217013140/http://www.newsweek.com/wikipedia-news-becomes-open-public-292613 |archive-date=December 17, 2014 |access-date=December 16, 2014 |website=Newsweek}}</ref> but ran out of money in July 2015.<ref name="Infobitt2015">{{Cite web |date=July 8, 2015 |title=Infobitt's Future, and Mine |url=http://larrysanger.org/2015/07/infobitts-future-and-mine/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150709201508/http://larrysanger.org/2015/07/infobitts-future-and-mine/ |archive-date=July 9, 2015 |access-date=July 8, 2015}}</ref>

In December 2017, it was announced that Sanger had become the [[chief information officer]] of [[Everipedia]],<ref name="Patterson2017">{{Cite news |last=Patterson |first=Dan |date=December 8, 2017 |title=Why Wikipedia's cofounder wants to replace the online encyclopedia with the blockchain |url=https://www.techrepublic.com/videos/everipedia-wants-the-blockchain-to-replace-wikipedia/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180125015311/https://www.techrepublic.com/videos/everipedia-wants-the-blockchain-to-replace-wikipedia/ |archive-date=January 25, 2018 |publisher=[[TechRepublic]]}}</ref><ref name="Brown2017" /> an open encyclopedia that uses [[blockchain]] technology.<ref name="Sanger2017">{{Cite news |last=Larry Sanger |date=December 12, 2017 |title=Wikipedia's cofounder on how he's creating a bigger, better rival—on the blockchain |url=https://qz.com/1151073/wikipedias-cofounder-on-how-hes-creating-a-bigger-better-rival-on-the-blockchain/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171216203157/https://qz.com/1151073/wikipedias-cofounder-on-how-hes-creating-a-bigger-better-rival-on-the-blockchain/ |archive-date=December 16, 2017 |access-date=December 12, 2017 |publisher=[[Quartz (publication)|Quartz]]}}</ref> That month, Sanger told ''[[Inverse (website)|Inverse]]'' that Everipedia is "going to change the world in a dramatic way, more than Wikipedia did".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Mike Brown |date=December 6, 2017 |title=Wikipedia Cofounder Tells Us His Plan to Build Encyclopedia on Bitcoin Tech |url=https://www.inverse.com/article/39088-wikipedia-s-co-founder-wants-to-use-bitcoin-tech-to-build-an-encyclopedia |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171208003844/https://www.inverse.com/amp/article/39088-wikipedia-s-co-founder-wants-to-use-bitcoin-tech-to-build-an-encyclopedia |archive-date=December 8, 2017 |access-date=December 7, 2017 |work=[[Inverse (website)|Inverse]]}}</ref> That same month, Sanger told ''[[TechRepublic]]'' that "Everipedia is the encyclopedia of everything, where topics are unrestricted, unlike on Wikipedia."<ref name="Brown2017">{{Cite news |last=Leah Brown |date=December 11, 2017 |title=Why Wikipedia's cofounder wants to replace the online encyclopedia with the blockchain |url=https://www.techrepublic.com/article/why-wikipedias-cofounder-wants-to-replace-the-online-encyclopedia-with-the-blockchain/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171212193519/https://www.techrepublic.com/article/why-wikipedias-cofounder-wants-to-replace-the-online-encyclopedia-with-the-blockchain/ |archive-date=December 12, 2017 |access-date=December 12, 2017 |publisher=[[TechRepublic]]}}</ref> On July 1, 2019, Sanger advocated for a social-media strike to take place on July 4 and 5 to demand the [[decentralization]] of social media platforms to their user bases from their top-level management so their users can assert control over their [[Data privacy|data and privacy]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=July 1, 2019 |title=Wikipedia founder calls for social media strike |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-48825410 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190702043035/https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-48825410 |archive-date=July 2, 2019 |access-date=July 2, 2019 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Sachdeva |first=Anmol |date=July 1, 2019 |title=Unhappy With Social Media? Join Wikipedia Co-Founder In Social Media Strike |url=https://fossbytes.com/wikipedia-co-founder-social-media-strike/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190702102649/https://fossbytes.com/wikipedia-co-founder-social-media-strike/ |archive-date=July 2, 2019 |access-date=July 2, 2019 |website=Fossbytes |language=en-US}}</ref>

{{anchor|Encyclosphere}}On October 18, 2019, Sanger announced that he had resigned from his position at Everipedia and returned his stock holdings in the company without compensation to establish the Knowledge Standards Foundation and develop the website encyclosphere.org.<ref name="Everipedia resignation">{{Cite web |last=Sanger |first=Larry |date=October 18, 2019 |title=Introducing the Encyclosphere |url=https://larrysanger.org/2019/10/introducing-the-encyclosphere/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191020225529/https://larrysanger.org/2019/10/introducing-the-encyclosphere/ |archive-date=October 20, 2019 |access-date=October 21, 2019 |website=Larry Sanger Blog |publisher=Larry Sanger}}</ref> He said of the venture, "We need to do for encyclopedias what blogging standards did for blogs: there needs to be an 'Encyclosphere'. We should build a totally decentralized network, like the [[Blogosphere]]—or like email, [[Internet Relay Chat|IRC]], [[blockchain]]s, and the [[World Wide Web]] itself."<ref name="Everipedia resignation" /> The Knowledge Standards Foundation was founded in September 2019 by Sanger and others.<ref>{{Cite web |date=n.d. |title=About the Knowledge Standards Foundation |url=https://encyclosphere.org/about |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220215014540/https://encyclosphere.org/about |archive-date=February 15, 2022 |access-date=July 23, 2021 |website=Knowledge Standards Foundation |language=en-US}}</ref> In 2020, Sanger was appointed to the [[advisory board]] of blockchain company [[Phunware]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Choudhury |first=Uttara |date=March 3, 2020 |title=Phunware appoints Wikipedia co-founder Larry Sanger to advisory board |url=https://ca.proactiveinvestors.com/companies/news/914219/phunware-appoints-wikipedia-co-founder-larry-sanger-to-advisory-board-914219.html |access-date=January 19, 2021 |website=Proactive investors |language=en |archive-date=July 21, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210721224234/https://ca.proactiveinvestors.com/companies/news/914219/phunware-appoints-wikipedia-co-founder-larry-sanger-to-advisory-board-914219.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Views==
Sanger's professional interests include [[epistemology]], [[early modern philosophy]], and ethics.<ref name="Alan_Boraas" /> Most of Sanger's philosophical work focuses on epistemology.<ref name="Wade Roush" /> In January 2002, Sanger returned to [[Columbus, Ohio]], to teach philosophy at Ohio State University.{{sfn|Lih|2009|p=210}} In 2008, he visited [[Balliol College, Oxford|Balliol College]] of the [[University of Oxford]] to [[debate]] the proposal "the Internet is the future of knowledge", arguing [[wiki]]s and blogs are changing the way knowledge is created and distributed.<ref name="Andrew Keen">{{Cite news |last=Keen, Andrew |date=June 2, 2008 |title=Andrew Keen on New Media |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/andrew-keen-on-new-media-837997.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080605023100/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/andrew-keen-on-new-media-837997.html |archive-date=June 5, 2008 |access-date=June 8, 2008 |work=[[The Independent]] |location=London}}</ref> Sanger has frequently written and spoken about collaborative content.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Larry Sanger |url=http://blogs.britannica.com/author/lsanger |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200701172049/http://blogs.britannica.com/author/lsanger |archive-date=July 1, 2020 |access-date=April 8, 2022 |website=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] Blog}}</ref> Sanger has argued that liberal and [[Centre-left politics|left-leaning]] views dominate in [[Academic bias|academia]], [[Criticism of science|science]], the [[Media bias|media]] and tech companies such as Facebook and Twitter.<ref name="Spence 2021" />

In December 2010, Sanger said he considered [[WikiLeaks]] to be "enemies of the US—not just the government, but the people".<ref name="The Wall Street Journal">{{Cite news |last=Crovitz, L. Gordon |date=December 6, 2010 |title=Julian Assange, Information Anarchist |url=http://topics.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703989004575653113548361870.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101217055334/http://topics.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703989004575653113548361870.html |archive-date=December 17, 2010 |access-date=December 22, 2010 |work=The Wall Street Journal |publisher=[[Dow Jones & Company]]}}</ref> In 2011, Sanger began to defend Christians as he viewed them to be unfairly attacked in the media.<ref name="Eisner2025">{{cite web |last1=Eisner |first1=Annie |date=21 February 2025 |title=Wikipedia's Co-Founder Made an Edit to His Beliefs: He's Now a Christian |url=https://relevantmagazine.com/current/buzzworthy/wikipedias-co-founder-made-an-edit-to-his-beliefs-hes-now-a-christian/ |access-date=21 February 2025 |publisher=[[Relevant (magazine)|Relevant Magazine]]}}</ref>

In September 2021, in response to U.S. President [[Joe Biden]] announcing a [[COVID-19 vaccine mandates in the United States|COVID-19 vaccine mandate]] for [[United States federal civil service|federal government employees]], Sanger tweeted "Nor I.#IWillNotComply" in agreement with political commentator [[Tim Pool]]. In an earlier tweet, Sanger falsely claimed that [[COVID-19 vaccine]]s are "not a [[vaccine]]".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Slisco |first=Aila |date=September 10, 2021 |title=#IWillNotComply trends on Twitter after Joe Biden orders vaccine mandate |url=https://www.newsweek.com/iwillnotcomply-trends-twitter-after-joe-biden-orders-vaccine-mandate-1627723 |access-date=September 10, 2021 |work=[[Newsweek]] |language=en |archive-date=November 23, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211123221355/https://www.newsweek.com/iwillnotcomply-trends-twitter-after-joe-biden-orders-vaccine-mandate-1627723 |url-status=live }}</ref> In March 2022, Sanger said that "[[Decentralization]] is a necessary but not sufficient condition of [[internet freedom]]", arguing that both [[Federation (information technology)|federated]] and [[peer-to-peer]] decentralized networks "can still be captured and controlled in various ways and rendered un-free".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bassett |first=Caitlin |date=March 30, 2022 |title=Could Decentralization Fix Twitter's Censorship Problems? |url=https://mindmatters.ai/2022/03/could-decentralization-fix-twitters-censorship-problems/ |access-date=March 31, 2022 |website=MindMatters.ai |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Personal life==
In February 2000, when Sanger was hired by Wales to develop Nupedia, he moved to [[San Diego]].{{sfn |Reagle |2010 |p=35}} He was married in [[Las Vegas]] in December 2001.{{sfn |Anderson |2011 |p=74}} In 2005, he and his wife moved to [[Santa Cruz, California]], to work for [[Digital Universe]].{{sfn |Lih |2009 |pp=210–211}} As of 2015, Sanger lives in the outskirts of [[Columbus, Ohio]].<ref name="Schwartz2015" /> As of 2021, he lives with his wife and two sons, who are both [[Homeschooling|homeschooled]].<ref name="Spence 2021" /><ref name="Encyclosphere" />

Sanger was raised in the [[Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod]] and went to [[Sunday school]], but became an [[Agnosticism|agnostic]] when he was 16 after his family stopped regularly going to [[Church service|church]].<ref name="Spence 2021" /><ref name="Gilbert 2016">{{Cite web |last=Gilbert |first=Alexandre |date=November 15, 2016 |title=Larry Sanger: "Wikipedia has a problem with fairness and sound governance" |url=http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/larry-sanger-wikipedia-has-a-problem-with-fairness-and-sound-governance/ |access-date=February 8, 2021 |website=[[The Times of Israel]] |language=en-US |archive-date=November 21, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161121220428/http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/larry-sanger-wikipedia-has-a-problem-with-fairness-and-sound-governance/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Sanger |first=Larry |date=January 15, 2020 |title=Why I Have Not Been a Christian, and Why That Might Change |url=https://larrysanger.org/2020/01/why-i-have-not-been-a-christian-and-why-that-might-change/ |access-date=February 8, 2021 |website=Larry Sanger Blog |publisher=Larry Sanger |archive-date=April 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411110012/https://larrysanger.org/2020/01/why-i-have-not-been-a-christian-and-why-that-might-change/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2023, Sanger described himself as a [[Christians|Christian]] and is authoring an [[Christian apologetics|apologetics]] book titled ''God Exists: A Philosophical Case for the Christian God''.<ref name="Eisner2025"/><ref>{{Cite web |date=September 24, 2023 |title=How to Read the Bible All the Way Through for the First Time |url=https://larrysanger.org/2023/09/how-to-read-the-bible-all-the-way-through-for-the-first-time/#comments |access-date=October 31, 2023 |website=LarrySanger.org |language=en-US |archive-date=May 4, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250504001238/https://larrysanger.org/2023/09/how-to-read-the-bible-all-the-way-through-for-the-first-time/#comments |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2025, he said that was seeking to be [[Confirmation|confirmed]] in the [[Anglican Church in North America]], a confessing Anglican denomination of Christianity.<ref name="ACNA affiliation">{{cite news |last1=Mouser |first1=Jessica |date=August 22, 2025 |title=Wikipedia Cofounder Larry Sanger Has Decided To Join the Anglican Church in North America |url=https://churchleaders.com/news/517535-wikipedia-larry-sanger-anglican-church-in-north-america-acna.html |access-date=25 August 2025 |work=Church Leaders}}</ref>

Ethnically, he described himself in 2016 as "a typical American cross-breed (lots of English, German, and French)".<ref name="Gilbert 2016" /> Sanger supports the concept of "baby reading".<ref name="Carey2013" /> He started teaching his son to read before his second birthday and posted videos online to demonstrate this.<ref name="Carey2013">{{Cite news |last=Carey |first=Tanith |date=January 2, 2013 |title=Can you teach a baby to read? |url=https://www.iol.co.za/lifestyle/family/baby/can-you-teach-a-baby-to-read-1446782 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107013329/https://www.iol.co.za/lifestyle/family/baby/can-you-teach-a-baby-to-read-1446782 |archive-date=November 7, 2017 |access-date=October 30, 2017 |publisher=[[Independent Online (South Africa)]]}}</ref> He is fond of [[Irish traditional music]].{{sfn |Lih |2009 |p=210}}

==Selected writings==

=== Academic work ===
* Epistemic Circularity: An Essay on the Problem of Meta-Justification&nbsp;– doctoral thesis.
* Descartes's methods and their theoretical background&nbsp;– bachelor thesis.

=== Essays ===
* {{Cite web |last= |first= |date=December 30, 2015 |title=Why Neutrality? |url=https://ballotpedia.org/Why_Neutrality |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260307120049/https://ballotpedia.org/Why_Neutrality |archive-date=March 7, 2026 |website=[[Ballotpedia]]}}
* {{Cite web |date=December 13, 2010 |title=How and Why I Taught My Toddler to Read |url=http://larrysanger.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/How-and-Why-I-Taught-My-Toddler-to-Read.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250808185117/http://larrysanger.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/How-and-Why-I-Taught-My-Toddler-to-Read.pdf |archive-date=August 8, 2025 |website=LarrySanger.org}}
* {{Cite web |date=April 15, 2010 |title=Individual Knowledge in the Internet Age |url=https://er.educause.edu/articles/2010/4/individual-knowledge-in-the-internet-age |publisher=Educause Review}}
* {{Cite journal |last1=Sanger |first1=Lawrence M. |date=February 2009 |title=The Fate of Expertise after Wikipedia |journal=Episteme |volume=6 |pages=52–73 |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/episteme/article/abs/fate-of-expertise-after-wikipedia/93DF1F7377FB4A163190619AC41B722F |publisher=Cambridge University |doi=10.3366/E1742360008000543 |via=Cambridge Core}}
* {{Cite web |date=April 2007 |title=Who Says We Know: On The New Politics of Knowledge |url=http://www.edge.org/3rd_culture/sanger07/sanger07_index.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121222100719/http://www.edge.org/3rd_culture/sanger07/sanger07_index.html |archive-date=December 22, 2012 |publisher=Edge Foundation |via=Edge Reality Club}}
* {{Cite web |year=2007 |title=Humanity's Coming Enlightenment |url=http://edge.org/q2007/q07_14.html#sanger |url-status=dead |archive-url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20090626082438/http://edge.org/q2007/q07_14.html |archive-date=June 26, 2009 |publisher=Edge Foundation |via=World Question Center}}

=== Presentations ===
* {{Cite web |date=June 7, 2007 |title=What Strong Collaboration Means for Scholarly Publishing |url=http://larrysanger.org/scholar_pub.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260413041401/http://larrysanger.org/scholar_pub.html |archive-date=April 13, 2026 |publication-place=San Francisco, CA |via=Society for Scholarly Publishing}}
* {{Cite web |date=January 30, 2007 |title=How to Think about Strong Collaboration among Professionals |url=http://citizendium.org/collab_prof.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071017053843/http://citizendium.org/collab_prof.html |archive-date=October 17, 2007 |publisher=Handelsblatt IT Congress |place=Bonn, Germany}}
* {{Cite web |date=October 24, 2006 |title=Why Make Room for Experts in Web 2.0? |url=http://citizendium.org/roomforexperts.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071018072925/http://citizendium.org/roomforexperts.html |archive-date=October 18, 2007 |publisher=The Business of New Media |place=Santa Clara, CA}}

=== Books ===
* {{Cite book |last1=Sanger |first1=Larry |url=https://larrysanger.org/2020/09/new-book-essays-on-free-knowledge/ |title=Essays on Free Knowledge: The Origins of Wikipedia and the New Politics of Knowledge |date=September 8, 2020 |publisher=Sanger Press |isbn=9781735795416}}

==See also==
* [[List of Wikipedia people]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Bibliography==
*{{Cite book |last=Anderson |first=Jennifer Joline |url=https://archive.org/details/wikipediacompany0000ande |title=Wikipedia: The Company and Its Founders |publisher=Abdo Group |year=2011 |isbn=978-1617148125 |edition=1 |url-access=registration}}
*{{Cite book |last=Lih |first=Andrew |url=https://archive.org/details/wikipediarevolut00liha |title=The Wikipedia REVOLUTION: How a Bunch of Nobodies Created the World's Greatest Encyclopedia |publisher=[[Hachette Books|Hyperion]] |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-4013-0371-6 |location=New York |url-access=registration}}
*{{Cite book |last=Reagle |first=Joseph Michael |url=https://archive.org/details/goodfaithcol_reag_2010_000_10578531 |title=Good Faith Collaboration: The Culture of Wikipedia |publisher=[[MIT Press]] |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-262-01447-2 |edition=1 |location=Cambridge, Massachusetts |url-access=registration}}

==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
{{Commons category|Larry Sanger}}
* [http://larrysanger.org/ Larry Sanger]&nbsp;– Sanger's personal website.
* [https://encyclosphere.org/ Encyclosphere]
* {{YouTube|u=LarrySanger|Larry Sanger}}
* {{User page link|Larry Sanger}}
** {{self-reference link|User:Larry Sanger/Origins of Wikipedia|Origins of Wikipedia}} – An essay discussing the origins of Wikipedia.

{{Wikipediahistory}}

{{Authority control}}

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