The project aims to make a better world by finding the truth and facts of reality in all aspects of human knowledge, and presenting them in a way that is easy for laypeople to search and understand. It aims to do this through a systematic approach to contribution and the organization of arguments and evidence contrasted with reality and known facts.

An argument or a topic will be broken down into the smallest pieces necessary to discuss rationally and conclude its reliability and truthfulness. A set of contribution and discussion rules will be enforced by the system (automated) to prevent chaotic discussions, together with human critical thinking, moral intent, and the collective effort of everyone who wants to find the truth.

This is an open research effort and an attempt to collect all verifiable facts, and to allow everyone to contribute and challenge arguments with all sorts of doubts and questions they can think of. Eventually, we can come up with a "golden source" of truth and facts of reality that has survived all challenges, hardened and supported by all available evidence and arguments.

This project does not intend to replace Wikipedia, Quora, or other similar internet systems. It intends to provide a place for everyone who is looking for specific truth and facts of reality out of the ocean of information they see on the internet, from news, search results, crowd-sourced sites, people around them, and various other sources.

If someone wants to find information about different topics or explore the vast information on the internet without a strong need for reliability and verifiability, there is Wikipedia, Quora, and Google. But to see what is really the truth and reality, there is Wikitruth.

Assumptions

• A lot of people have difficulty finding true information and determining what to believe.
• The world will be a better place if people can know the real truth, find it easily, and distinguish it from random claims and opinions.
• There is a lot of information in the world, with truth and lies often intertwined. People cannot easily differentiate truth from lies because information is highly unorganized, and much of it is unverifiable, especially on the internet.
• Public understanding of facts can be influenced by media systems, governments, major corporations, and societal, cultural, or religious conditioning.
• If we can have a place where truth and lies are clearly organized, categorized, and distinctly separated, people will more easily see the truth and recognize what is false.
• If people know the truth, there will be fewer disagreements, fewer conflicts, better governance and politics, a better education system, only one religion, a better environment, better human relationships, better health, more love, and peace.

Common failure patterns in internet discussions and forums when seeking truth

• Mostly single-sided, controlled by users with admin privileges or by majority sentiment
• Citing unverified or unverifiable sources
• Chaotic, unorganized, or difficult to audit
• Ends in disagreements and often turns offensive or discriminatory
• Cyclic (looping arguments), never-ending (for example, recurring Creationism vs Evolution debates)
• Vital points get buried in comments
• Nonsense comments prevail because of upvote and engagement mechanics
• Popularity can outrank evidence, where viral claims spread faster than corrections
• Echo chambers and brigading can distort consensus and suppress nuance
• Repeated claims can look credible over time even without primary evidence
• Truth is hard to find

• Wikipedia
• Encyclopedia Britannica
• Google Search
• Grokipedia

• Quora
• Reddit
• Stack Exchange

• ChatGPT
• Gemini
• Claude
• Perplexity
• Grok

• Yahoo! Answers (historical)
• Debate.org (historical)
• Citizendium (historical/reference)

• Modern app (canonical): /
• Compatibility alias: /app/* (redirect/alias to modern root routes)
• Legacy app mount: /legacy/*
• API: /api/*

• Node.js 24.13.1 recommended (see .nvmrc)
• Supported engines:
  • Node.js >=22.4.1 <25
  • npm >=10.8.1 <12
• MongoDB running locally or remotely
• ImageMagick installed (used for image processing flows)

git clone https://github.com/wikitruth/wikitruth.git
cd wikitruth
nvm use
npm install
cp .env.example .env

Update .env values (MongoDB URI, SMTP, and related settings), then run:

npm run dev:all

Password reset, account verification, signup notifications, and contact-form delivery use SMTP configuration.

Minimum SMTP variables:

SMTP_FROM_ADDRESS=your-email@gmail.com
SMTP_USERNAME=your-email@gmail.com
SMTP_PASSWORD=your-gmail-app-password
SMTP_HOST=smtp.gmail.com
SMTP_SSL=true
SYSTEM_EMAIL=your-email@gmail.com

For Gmail, use an App Password from a 2FA-enabled Google account. See docs/frontend/ENVIRONMENT_VARIABLES.md for the full config matrix.

Development URLs:

• Modern client (webpack dev server): http://localhost:3001
• Backend/API: http://localhost:8000
• Client /api/* requests are proxied to :8000

Build client bundle and run server-only:

npm run build:client
npm start

Then open:

• Modern app: http://localhost:8000/
• Legacy app: http://localhost:8000/legacy/

Legacy Grunt workflow (only if needed):

npm run start:legacy-grunt

On a fresh database:

1. Open http://localhost:8000/install
2. Run the MongoDB restore/install flow
3. Continue and sign in with seeded local credentials:

• Username: root
• Password: dev123

Use seeded credentials for local/dev only.

Common commands:

npm run lint
npm run test:server
npm run test:client
npm run test:parity
npm run build

Contract and drift-focused checks:

npm run test:parity:url-contracts
npm run test:parity:server

Full CI-style local gate:

npm run test:ci

Session and CSRF behavior is env-driven. Key variables include:

• SESSION_COOKIE_NAME
• SESSION_COOKIE_SECURE
• SESSION_COOKIE_SAMESITE
• SESSION_COOKIE_MAX_AGE_MS
• CSRF_IGNORE_METHODS
• CSRF_COOKIE_SIGNED
• CSRF_COOKIE_SECURE
• CSRF_COOKIE_SAMESITE

For advanced/default config mapping:

• config/config.example.js
• server/src/config/config.js

• client/ modern React frontend
• server/src/ modern server and API runtime
• legacy/ legacy controllers/templates/static/build toolchain
• legacy/compatibility/ thin legacy-modern bridge layer
• docs/ plans, canonical cards, architecture references, and reports

• Docs index: docs/README.md
• Canonical cards: docs/canonical/README.md
• Active plans: docs/plans/README.md
• System-reference hub: docs/system-reference/README.md
• Imported ideas corpus: docs/ideas-docs/README.md
• React client notes: client/README.md
• Legacy compatibility notes: legacy/compatibility/README.md

URL contract and drift policy quick references:

• docs/canonical/09_URL_CONTRACT_AND_DRIFT_POLICY.md
• docs/plans/LEGACY_MODERN_URL_FORMAT_DRIFT_CHECKLIST_PLAN_2026-04-22.md

Feel free to send feedback to wikitruth.project@gmail.com or start a discussion on Facebook.