Behind Closed Doors: NPR CEO Caught In Censorship Controversy

Critics point to her current role on the board of directors of the Signal Foundation as a contradiction to her public statements.

The Signal Foundation is the nonprofit organization behind the popular messaging app, Signal, which is renowned for its commitment to security and free speech. In 2021, the app saw a significant increase in users, with the number exceeding 40 million. This surge was largely attributed to Signal's robust end-to-end encryption and its independence from major tech conglomerates.

April 22, 2024

Despite her position as the chair of the board of directors at the Signal Foundation, Maher has a track record of making statements that appear to contradict the principles of free speech.

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According to the foundation's website, Maher's biography reads, “Katherine Maher is the former CEO and Executive Director of the Wikimedia Foundation, responsible for Wikipedia. She is currently a non-resident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council, where her work focuses on the intersection of technology, human rights, and democracy.”

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April 22, 2024

Maher's views on free speech, expressed during a 2021 TED Talk, have been met with criticism. In her talk, she suggested that truth is subjective, drawing from her tenure as CEO of Wikipedia from 2016 to 2021.

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Maher lauded Wikipedia's model of crowd-sourced information, implying that contentious subjects such as politics and religion can be effectively addressed without an emphasis on objective truth.

"When it comes to the hard things, the places where we are prone to disagreement, say politics and religion—Well, as it turns out, not only does Wikipedia's model work there, it actually works really well,” Maher stated.

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She further elaborated, "Because in our normal lives, these contentious conversations tend to erupt over a disagreement about what the truth actually is. But the people who write these articles, they're not focused on the truth."

Recently, Maher faced backlash on social media following a video posted by journalist Christopher Rufo. The video showed her admitting that during her time as CEO of Wikipedia, she "took a very active approach to disinformation," and coordinated censorship "through conversations with government.”