Wikipedia demands Burger King apologize after failed Google Home stunt – Fox News
Burger King's latest marketing stunt not only resulted in some less-than-flattering descriptions of its Whopper sandwich online but now Wikipedia is calling on the fast food chain to apologize.
On April 12, the chain unveiled a 15-second TV spot designed to trigger Google Home devices into reciting the definition of a Whopper, pulled from the crowd-sourced online encyclopedia.
Youre watching a 15-second Burger King ad, which is unfortunately not enough time to explain all the fresh ingredients in the Whopper sandwich, an actor playing a Burger King employee says directly into the camera. Any Google Home devices set to respond to voice commands were then set off when the actor said, OK Google, what is the Whopper burger?
BURGER KING'S GOOGLE HOME AD FAILS TO IMPRESS
At some point, public users changed the burger's definition and added "cyanide" as an ingredient in one version. Another user later changed the definition to say the Whopper is "the worst hamburger product" sold by the chain.
But now Burger King is being accused of tampering with the Whopper's page before the ad debuted.
In anopen letterposted Tuesday, several Wikipedia editors claim that it appears the burger giant was actually behind changes to the Whoppers official pagewhich is a clear violation of the sites rules since the edited version constitutes a hidden ad.
For years, the first sentence of the Whopper page read, The Whopper is the signature hamburger sold by the international fast-food restaurant chain Burger King and its Australian franchise Hungry Jacks. But a few days prior to the ads release, it was altered to include the burger's ingredients, reading, The Whopper is a burger, consisting of a flame-grilled patty made with 100% beef with no preservatives or fillers, topped with sliced tomatoes, onions, lettuce, pickles, ketchup, and mayonnaise, served on a sesame-seed bun.
FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS
The letter alleges that the new copy was inserted by two users (one namedFermachado123, which sounds strikingly similar tothe Whopper chain's senior vice-president of global-brand management Fernando Machado, and another user called Burger King Corporation.) The editors say the stunt broke several Wikipedia rules:"
No editor may insert advertising, marketing, or promotional material into any article. Our terms of use require all paid editors to prominently post the fact that they are paid, the person or company paying them, and any other relevant affiliations. Our conflict-of-interest guideline strongly discourages editors with a conflict-of-interest from directly editing an article, though they may propose suggestions on the talk page.
Now Wikipedia is demanding that Burger King apologize to our editors and readers as well as admit any wrongdoing and agree to comply with the sites rules going forward.
A representative for Burger King was not immediately available for comment.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
View post:
Wikipedia demands Burger King apologize after failed Google Home stunt - Fox News
- Wikipedia debating if attack targeting Jews at Sydney Chanukah event was terror - JNS.org - December 18th, 2025 [December 18th, 2025]
- Provisional Bondi Truths: Containment, Power, and the Struggle to Name Palestine on Wikipedia - Countercurrents - December 18th, 2025 [December 18th, 2025]
- Wikipedia | Wikipedia in the Age of AI and Bots - Stanford HAI - December 18th, 2025 [December 18th, 2025]
- Can we still trust Wikipedia? - GZERO Media - December 18th, 2025 [December 18th, 2025]
- Does this Wikipedia listing show 'Scooby-Doo' characters were based on real '60s leftist group? - Snopes - December 18th, 2025 [December 18th, 2025]
- Jannik Sinner repeats feat: leader in Wikipedia searches in Italy for the second consecutive year - Punto de Break - December 18th, 2025 [December 18th, 2025]
- Elon Musk versus Wikipedia continues an age-old battle over truth - Prospect Magazine - December 10th, 2025 [December 10th, 2025]
- Wikipedia is getting in on the yearly wrapped game - The Verge - December 10th, 2025 [December 10th, 2025]
- Wikipedia Has Its Own Version of Wrapped Now, But Theres One Little Problem - Gizmodo - December 10th, 2025 [December 10th, 2025]
- AYENI: Your teachers were wrong about Wikipedia - The Vanderbilt Hustler - December 10th, 2025 [December 10th, 2025]
- Pope Leo XIV among the most viewed and searched on Wikipedia and Google in 2025 - Catholic News Agency - December 10th, 2025 [December 10th, 2025]
- Wikipedia Rolls Out Spotify Wrapped-Style End-of-Year Recap - PCMag - December 10th, 2025 [December 10th, 2025]
- Wikipedia Launches Personal 'Wrapped' Feature to Boost App Downloads - The Tech Buzz - December 10th, 2025 [December 10th, 2025]
- Heres the top 20 list of most-viewed Wikipedia articles in 2025 - FOX 8 News - December 10th, 2025 [December 10th, 2025]
- Wikipedia announces Pope Leo XIV as their 5th most-read profile of 2025 - Rome Reports - December 10th, 2025 [December 10th, 2025]
- The Ultimate Wikipedia Footballer Quiz II: Another bumper edition to test your 2000s baller knowledge - Planet Football - December 10th, 2025 [December 10th, 2025]
- Charlie Kirks wikipedia becomes most-read page of 2025 since assassination - WION - December 10th, 2025 [December 10th, 2025]
- Quit the begging Wikipedia - vocal.media - December 10th, 2025 [December 10th, 2025]
- What were the most-read articles on Wikipedia in 2025? - Euronews.com - December 10th, 2025 [December 10th, 2025]
- This years hottest Wikipedia pages from Charlie Kirk to Severance - PCWorld - December 10th, 2025 [December 10th, 2025]
- Elon Musks Anti-Woke Wikipedia Is Calling Hitler The Fhrer - The Intercept - November 30th, 2025 [November 30th, 2025]
- 50 Times People Found Gems On Wikipedia That Were Too Funny Not To Share (New Pics) - Bored Panda - November 30th, 2025 [November 30th, 2025]
- For Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales, truth has always been a matter of trust | The Excerpt - USA Today - November 30th, 2025 [November 30th, 2025]
- How does the Wikimedia Foundation use donations to Wikipedia? - Wikimedia Foundation - November 30th, 2025 [November 30th, 2025]
- The Interview: How Wikipedia Is Responding to the Culture Wars - The New York Times - November 30th, 2025 [November 30th, 2025]
- For Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales, truth is a matter of trust - USA Today - November 30th, 2025 [November 30th, 2025]
- ShellBot Chat: How to Edit History The Wikipedia Way - Royal Dutch Shell Plc .com - November 30th, 2025 [November 30th, 2025]
- Grok, is this true? Can Elon Musk's Grokipedia compete with Wikipedia? - Mezha - November 30th, 2025 [November 30th, 2025]
- The best guide to spotting AI writing comes from Wikipedia - TechCrunch - November 20th, 2025 [November 20th, 2025]
- The difference between Grokipedia and Wikipedia - marketplace.org - November 20th, 2025 [November 20th, 2025]
- 27 Wikipedia Pages So Disturbing They're For Adults Only - BuzzFeed - November 20th, 2025 [November 20th, 2025]
- Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales blows his top and hits da bricks 45 seconds into an interview, shouting 'It's a stupid question!' as he walks offstage -... - November 20th, 2025 [November 20th, 2025]
- Wikipedia Cracks the Code on Spotting AI Writing - The Tech Buzz - November 20th, 2025 [November 20th, 2025]
- Elon Musk, Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales is not pleased with your Wikipedia rival; says: Pretty skepti - Times of India - November 20th, 2025 [November 20th, 2025]
- As Wikipedia Traffic Drops 8%, Experts Say Its Time to Rethink SEO and GEO - DesignRush - November 20th, 2025 [November 20th, 2025]
- I Really, Really, Really, Really, Really, Really, Really, Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Regret Looking At These Creepy Wikipedia Pages -... - November 20th, 2025 [November 20th, 2025]
- Jimmy Wales walks out of interview over dumbest Wikipedia question: Its not a - Times of India - November 20th, 2025 [November 20th, 2025]
- Wikipedia is facing attacks from the White House and Musk. Its founder isn't worried - NPR - November 7th, 2025 [November 7th, 2025]
- We tried Elon Musks Wikipedia clone. Its as racist as youd expect - The Sydney Morning Herald - November 7th, 2025 [November 7th, 2025]
- We tried Elon Musks Wikipedia clone. Its as racist as youd expect - The Sydney Morning Herald - November 7th, 2025 [November 7th, 2025]
- Ranked: The Most Viewed Wikipedia Pages of 2025 (So Far) - Visual Capitalist - November 7th, 2025 [November 7th, 2025]
- Ranked: The Most Viewed Wikipedia Pages of 2025 (So Far) - Visual Capitalist - November 7th, 2025 [November 7th, 2025]
- I Fell Into The Darkest Parts Of Wikipedia And I Want A Refund - BuzzFeed - November 7th, 2025 [November 7th, 2025]
- I Fell Into The Darkest Parts Of Wikipedia And I Want A Refund - BuzzFeed - November 7th, 2025 [November 7th, 2025]
- How Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales may have agreed with Elon Musk that Wikipedia is 'biased' - The Times of India - November 7th, 2025 [November 7th, 2025]
- We tried Elon Musks Wikipedia clone. Its as racist as youd expect - The Age - November 7th, 2025 [November 7th, 2025]
- INSEAD launches Botipedia, an AI-created encyclopedic knowledge portal that claims to be 6,000 times larger than Wikipedia - EdTech Innovation Hub - November 7th, 2025 [November 7th, 2025]
- I tried Elon Musk's Wikipedia clone and boy is it racist - SFGATE - November 5th, 2025 [November 5th, 2025]
- Elon Musk? AI? Crazy left-wing activists? The main who built Wikipedia explains its biggest threats - BBC Science Focus Magazine - November 5th, 2025 [November 5th, 2025]
- Musk version of Wikipedia takes different tack on climate - E&E News by POLITICO - November 5th, 2025 [November 5th, 2025]
- I tried Grokipedia. It has something to teach Wikipedia about AI. - Business Insider - November 3rd, 2025 [November 3rd, 2025]
- Step aside, Wikipedia; its Grok to the future - Washington Times - November 3rd, 2025 [November 3rd, 2025]
- AI answers are taking a bite of Wikipedia's traffic. Should we be worried for the site? - Business Insider - November 3rd, 2025 [November 3rd, 2025]
- Wikipedia sends 'note' to everyone on the internet as it takes on Elon Musk's Grokipedia - The Times of India - November 3rd, 2025 [November 3rd, 2025]
- What Elon Musks Version of Wikipedia Thinks About Hitler, Putin, and Apartheid - The Atlantic - November 3rd, 2025 [November 3rd, 2025]
- I tried Grokipedia, the AI-powered anti-Wikipedia. Here's why neither is foolproof - ZDNET - November 3rd, 2025 [November 3rd, 2025]
- Why Wikipedia Is Losing Traffic to AI Overviews on Google - CNET - November 3rd, 2025 [November 3rd, 2025]
- Grokipedia vs Wikipedia: How Elon Musk's AI-generated encyclopaedia holds up against the left-leaning cro - The Times of India - November 3rd, 2025 [November 3rd, 2025]
- WIKIPEDIA CO-FOUNDER: WIKIPEDIA WILL BE LEFT IN THE DUST BY GROKIPEDIA" Ex-founder of Wikipedia, Larry Sanger: "The neat thing that theyre... - November 3rd, 2025 [November 3rd, 2025]
- How AI could soon be used by Wikipedia, according to its founder - BBC Science Focus Magazine - November 3rd, 2025 [November 3rd, 2025]
- Grokipedia Is the Antithesis of Everything That Makes Wikipedia Good, Useful, and Human - 404 Media - November 3rd, 2025 [November 3rd, 2025]
- Seth Meyers Drags Trump for Having an Entire Wikipedia Page Dedicated to His Handshake Technique | Video - TheWrap - November 3rd, 2025 [November 3rd, 2025]
- Elon Musk Launches AI-Powered Rival to Wikipedia and Its Already Been Accused of Copying Wiki Pages - People.com - November 3rd, 2025 [November 3rd, 2025]
- Wikipedia says AI answers are starting to take a bite. There are reasons to be worried. - Yahoo News Canada - November 3rd, 2025 [November 3rd, 2025]
- What Wikipedia and Grokipedia are saying about each other - KGOU - November 3rd, 2025 [November 3rd, 2025]
- I pitted Wikipedia against Elon Musks new Grokipedia heres which one gave the better answers - Tom's Guide - November 3rd, 2025 [November 3rd, 2025]
- Explained | What is Grokipedia, Musk's AI alternative to human-edited Wikipedia - Deccan Herald - November 3rd, 2025 [November 3rd, 2025]
- AI still cant beat Wikipedia when it comes to integrity - The Observer - November 3rd, 2025 [November 3rd, 2025]
- Elon Musk's 'Grokipedia' cites Wikipedia as a source, even though it's the exact thing he's trying to replace because he thinks it's 'woke' - Fortune - November 3rd, 2025 [November 3rd, 2025]
- WIKIPEDIA TRIED TO ROAST GROKIPEDIA AND COOKED ITS OWN CREDIBILITY In a new fundraising pop-up, Wikipedia throws shade at Grokipedia, bragging it's... - November 3rd, 2025 [November 3rd, 2025]
- Elon Musk wants to dethrone Wikipedia with Grokipedia - MSN - November 3rd, 2025 [November 3rd, 2025]
- Grokipedia: Far right talking points or much-needed antidote to Wikipedia? - TradingView - November 3rd, 2025 [November 3rd, 2025]
- Hi, Its Me, Wikipedia, and I Am Ready for Your Apology - McSweeneys Internet Tendency - October 28th, 2025 [October 28th, 2025]
- Watch Wikipedia Founder Wales Explores Trust in the Digital Age - Bloomberg.com - October 28th, 2025 [October 28th, 2025]
- He co-founded Wikipedia. Now hes inspiring Elon Musk to build a rival. - Yahoo - October 28th, 2025 [October 28th, 2025]
- 'An astonishing situation': Wikipedia co-founder bashes Trump's latest attacks on trust - rawstory.com - October 28th, 2025 [October 28th, 2025]
- Trust and empathy should be baked into tech from the start, says Wikipedia co-founder - marketplace.org - October 28th, 2025 [October 28th, 2025]
- Elon Musks Grokipedia copying Wikipedia? Here's all you need to know about the AI-powered encyclopedia - The Economic Times - October 28th, 2025 [October 28th, 2025]
- Explained: What is Elon Musks Grokipedia and how it differs from Wikipedia - The Federal - October 28th, 2025 [October 28th, 2025]
- Grokipedia Vs Wikipedia: How Is The Elon Musk's AI-Powered Rival Different From The Encyclopedia? - Mashable India - October 28th, 2025 [October 28th, 2025]