With its philosophy of “knowledge by all, by all”, Wikipedia has displaced all print encyclopaedias in just 20 years. 5,000 articles are loaded every second and 12,000 new ones are written every day. In total there are around 50 million articles in almost 300 languages. While commercialised, self-absorbed websites are spreading like a pandemic, Wikipedia is one of the few non-commercial places on the internet, financed only by donations.

Anyone can contribute to Wikipedia. Behind the edit button lies the power of definition, and with a little practice, writing is no more complicated than an online bank transfer. Wikipedia is like a sausage, experienced editors say. Good to eat, but you’d rather not know how it’s made. Of the creators of this enormous pool of knowledge, who contribute what they believe to be relevant to the planet and 85% of whom are the infamous older white male, little is known.