Wikipedia's Jimmy Wales leaves interview after less than a minute, expressing frustration at being asked if he was the founder or co-founder

Jimmy Wales from Wikipedia appeared as a guest on the YouTube channel ' Jung & Naiv ,' where journalist Thilo Jung and others interview various people, but he left the show less than a minute after it began.

Jimmy Wales, Wikipedia's founder/co-founder - Jung & Naiv: Episode 792 - YouTube


The episode in question was episode 792, titled 'Jimmy Wales, Founder/Co-Founder of Wikipedia.'

Interviewed by Thilo Jung.

Jung asked his guest to introduce himself, to which Wales replied, 'I'm Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia.'

Jung responded to Wales' comment after a pause, 'Are you the founder or the co-founder?' to which Wales replied, 'I don't care. That's the dumbest question in the world.'

Jung, who was listening to the conversation under the assumption that Wales was a co-founder, gestured with his hands to explain, 'There seems to be a difference of opinion,' but Wales bluntly replied, 'There is no difference,' and 'It doesn't matter what you say.' When Jung tried to press him, asking, 'What is the truth?' Wales laughed and replied, 'That's an opinion, not a fact. You can have any opinion you want.'

As Jung continued, 'You're the founder...', Wales leaned forward a little and replied emphatically, 'I'll say it again, it doesn't matter. I've already said that four times.' Just as Jung was searching for his next words, Wales stood up, picked up his smartphone, which was on the desk, and said, 'That's it. Thank you,' ending the interview.

Jung asked Wales what was going on, but Wales refused to return to the recording studio and replied, 'That's stupid. Don't ask stupid questions.' When Jung asked him again, 'You say stupid?', he repeated, 'That's a stupid question.'

As Wales was leaving, Jung asked, 'First question, right?', but Wales refused to answer, and Jung ended the recording by saying, 'That was the shortest interview on 'Jung & Naiv'.'

Regarding this incident, Jung explained in the comments section of the video, 'Mr. Wales introduced himself as the 'founder,' but Wikipedia lists him as a 'co-founder.' There's a difference between founding the company alone or with other people. Mr. Wales called it the 'stupid question in the world,' and ended the interview because it was untrue, but the question was based on facts listed on Wikipedia, and Mr. Wales refused to answer facts about himself. I regret that Mr. Wales ended the interview after 50 seconds. From a journalistic point of view, the question was entirely legitimate.'

The case arose from a disagreement over whether Larry Sanger, Wales' collaborator at the start of Wikipedia, should be considered a mere employee or a co-founder.

Tech Rewind: How Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia came to be
https://www.mid-day.com/lifestyle/health-and-fitness/article/tech-rewind--how-wikipedia--the-free-encyclopedia-came-to-be-15915177

Wikipedia wasn't born out of thin air; it originated from Nupedia, an online encyclopedia project run by the portal site operator Bomis. Wales, a co-founder of Bomis, realized his long-held vision for an online encyclopedia with Nupedia in 2000. Sanger, then a university student, served as editor-in-chief (chief editor) at the launch of Nupedia.

Because articles on Nupedia had to be peer-reviewed by experts, updates were slow, so Sanger suggested using a content management system called ' Wiki ' so that anyone could edit. Wikipedia was launched in 2001.

While Sanger acknowledges that Bomis provided 100% of the funding for the creation of Wikipedia and that the idea itself was Wales's, he claims that he and Wales are co-founders.

Wales, on the other hand, maintains that Sanger was merely an employee of Bomis at the time, denies Sanger's claim that he was a co-founder, and maintains that he is the sole founder of Wikipedia.

The opinions of the parties involved are conflicting, making it difficult to determine which is correct, but both the English and Japanese versions of the Wikipedia article, which is edited by multiple editors, list Wales as a co-founder of Wikipedia.