This app combines Wikipedia and TikTok to fight doomscrolling

“Insane project idea: all of wikipedia on a single, scrollable page,” Patina Systems founder Tyler Angert posted on X earlier this month. “Even better, an infinitely scrolling Wikipedia page based on whatever you are interested in next?” replied Bloomberg Beta VC James Cham. “WikiTok,” added Angert. 

insane project idea: all of wikipedia on a single, scrollable page

— Tyler Angert (@tylerangert) February 3, 2025

New York-based app developer Isaac Gemal stumbled across the discussion the following evening. Within two hours, WikiTok was live. 

If you’re the type to instinctively pull up Wikipedia to fact-check anything and everything, this app is made for you. WikiTok users can swipe through an endless stream of Wikipedia article stubs, discovering random facts and interesting information along the way.

“Damn this is really cool, much better for the brain,” one X user posted. “The rabbit hole we didn’t know we needed. knowledge discovery powered by attention span instead of search terms. finally, a productive way to waste time,” another added.

Free from invasive tracking and endless notifications, this app offers the closest thing to guilt-free scrolling. Instead of feeding you content based on an algorithm, it delivers a truly random selection of Wikipedia articles, pulled straight from the Wikipedia API and displayed in a TikTok-style interface. Each entry appears with an image from the corresponding article—and if something catches your interest, a simple tap on “Read More” opens the full Wikipedia page in your browser.

Gemal made the code for WikiTok available on GitHub, allowing anyone to modify or contribute to the project. Currently, the web app supports article previews, sharing capabilities, and 14 languages across both desktop and mobile browsers. As the community grows, new features are expected to roll in as contributors get involved.

The app is currently algorithm-free and Gemal plans to keep it that way. “I have had plenty of people message me and even make issues on my GitHub asking for some insane crazy WikiTok algorithm,” Gemal told Ars Technica. “And I had to put my foot down and say something along the lines that we’re already ruled by ruthless, opaque algorithms in our everyday life; why can’t we just have one little corner in the world without them?”

One little corner, in other words, without doomscrolling.

https://www.fastcompany.com/91276081/this-app-combines-wikipedia-and-tiktok-to-fight-doomscrolling?partner=rss&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=rss+fastcompany&utm_content=rss
Creado 6mo | 10 feb 2025, 22:30:04


Inicia sesión para agregar comentarios

Otros mensajes en este grupo.

Smarter AI is supercharging battery innovation 

The global race for better batteries has never been more intense. Electric vehicles, drones, and next-generation aircraft all depend on high-performance energy storage—yet the traditiona

24 ago 2025, 11:40:14 | Fast company - tech
AI passed the aesthetic Turing Test, raising big questions for art

Pick up an August 2025 issue of Vogue, and you’ll come across an advertisement for the brand Guess featur

24 ago 2025, 9:20:14 | Fast company - tech
This word-search website is the brain boost you never knew you needed

Language is the original technology, the tool we’ve all used to coordinate with each other for thousands of years. Our success in life—both professionally and in relationships—depends on it.

24 ago 2025, 0:10:13 | Fast company - tech
Dropbox Passwords is shutting down. Do this before your passwords are deleted for good

It’s been a bad year for password managers. First, Microsoft announced earlier this summer that its popular Microsoft Authenticator app would be

23 ago 2025, 10:10:09 | Fast company - tech
The TikTok dorm water panic is officially here

Instead of worrying about making friends or keeping up with their studies, new college students have a different concern on their minds: dorm water.

“Praying dorm water doesn’t ruin my h

22 ago 2025, 20:20:07 | Fast company - tech
Reddit—and a dash of AI—do what Google and ChatGPT can’t

Hello, everyone, and thanks once again for reading Fast Company’s Plugged In.

For years, some of the world’s most

22 ago 2025, 20:20:06 | Fast company - tech