Block of Wikipedia in Turkey the founder of Wikipedia, from the guest list at the World Cities Expo event on smart cities to be held in the city from 15 to 18 May 2017, making the following announcement: "Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales was disinvited [sic] from the 'World Cities Expo Event' and the decision has been communicated to him. Respectfully announced to the public." Wales had hoped to attend despite the Wikipedia block, commenting: "I am looking forward to the visit. Istanbul is one of my favorite cities." Republican People's Party (CHP) parliamentarians criticized the block, with Eren Erdem stating that the ban puts "Turkey
Jimmy Wales of a Chicago futures and options firm. In 1996, he and two partners founded Bomis, an adult web portal featuring entertainment and adult content. The company would provide the initial funding for the peer-reviewed free encyclopedia, Nupedia (2000–03), and its successor, Wikipedia. On January 15, 2001, with Larry Sanger and others, Wales launched Wikipedia—a free, open content encyclopedia that enjoyed rapid growth and popularity; as Wikipedia's public profile grew, he became the project's promoter and spokesman. He is historically cited as a co-founder of Wikipedia, though he has disputed the "co-" designation, declaring himself the sole founder. Wales serves on