Wikimedia Foundation launches #KnowWithWiki campaign with Indian youth influencers

The Wikimedia Foundation has launched a campaign in collaboration with Indian youth influencers to highlight the power of free knowledge and show people how projects like Wikipedia can help them access and share knowledge globally. Over the next three weeks, the influencers will release short 60-second videos on Instagram highlighting Wikipedia articles related to topics about the everyday lives of Indian youth and their online pursuit for knowledge. The public can follow the campaign online using #KnowWithWiki.

The “Know Your World Better with Wikipedia” campaign will encourage Indian youth to follow their curiosity and do their own research on a wide variety of topics by seeking out open, fact-based, and reliable information, currently available on Wikipedia, the world’s largest online encyclopedia. From music and sports to body positivity, sustainability and even insects, the featured content will raise awareness about the ways in which Wikipedia can be used as a place to explore and share knowledge.

“Indians are among the world’s highest consumers of online media and information. Rooted in a nonprofit model, Wikipedia offers them a means to more deeply connect with the issues they care about — from the fun to the serious — by delivering reliable, well-sourced knowledge; it also invites them to share what they know,” said Anusha Alikhan, Wikimedia Foundation Vice President of Communications. “Our hope is that by improving the understanding of Wikipedia as a pathway for free knowledge, we can build stronger connections with the Indian public.”

The content collaborators include popular ex- Radio Jockey Abhinav; comic influencers Sanyam Sharma, Aabir Vyas and Vagmita (thatindianchick); north-eastern model and actress Merenla Imsong; illustrator-writer Priyanka Paul; disability rights activist Virali Modi; Forbes 30 under 30 member and influencer Tirthak Saha; and sustainability influencer Nayana Premnath.

Wikipedia is one of the most visited websites in the world, and the fifth most visited in India. More than 300,000 volunteer contributors add, edit, and update articles on Wikipedia and Wikimedia projects every month. Indian volunteers represent almost a fifth of that number, with over 65,000 contributors. They debate, fact-check, and work together to help ensure articles are neutral and based on reliable secondary sources of information, including news and academic articles, research, and other publications. Wikipedia exists in major Indian languages such as English, Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, and Punjabi. This campaign will ensure that more people in India understand how Wikipedia is built and the active role it can play in shaping informed discussion and debates in their daily lives.

Khanyi Mpumlwana, Wikimedia Foundation Creative Director said, “The inspiring thing about this audience is that they are already informing each other about the world around them; their aspirations, health, interests, and passions are being exchanged in so many ways on social media. Our aim with this experiment is to show GenZ audiences in India that Wikipedia already has a role to play in the things they are talking about, and how using this platform can help them further their pursuits to know more.”