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In an open letter titled “Dear WordPress community: We stand with you,” the contributors raise objections about governance, transparency, and decision-making processes. They highlight concerns about “double standards,” including Mullenweg’s lack of accountability under the project’s Code of Conduct and the executive director’s direct employment by Automattic.

Another long-time core committer pointed to the emotional and practical toll of recent events on contributors. “I signed largely because of the lack of public recognition by WordPress leadership of the impact to the WordPress project and hurt that Matt’s actions have caused to the folks, largely volunteers, who help to make WordPress,” they said. “Matt’s pattern of actions, and how they’ve been affecting the community, are not new, and I’m glad that changes for project governance are being more openly discussed. My hope is that, more than just objection, the letter will create conversations to find ways forward, to make the WordPress project a safer, more inclusive, and sustainable place.”

Others raised concerns about the personal risks of speaking out, including potential repercussions such as being blocked from contributing to WordPress, which would impact livelihoods. In November, The Repository reported on this “culture of fear” and the potential career-ending consequences of opposing Mullenweg, particularly for sponsored contributors.

There's a whooshing noise here.

The anniversary comes days after a judge blocked the sale of Alex Jones' Infowars platform to The Onion, a satirical news outlet. The forced sale came after Jones was ordered to pay nearly $1.5 billion to Sandy Hook families in a defamation case for calling the shooting a hoax.

Scripps News spoke with Robbie Parker, who lost his 6-year-old daughter Emilie in the shooting and testified at Jones' damages trial. Parker is the author of the new book, "A Father's Fight: Taking on Alex Jones and Reclaiming the Truth about Sandy Hook."

The blocked sale was "Obviously a lot of disappointment, Parker told Scripps News, but "We know that we're on good legal standing with everything that happened, and [the judge] agreed that we were, and there wasn't anything wrong that happened in the sale. So it's just a setback, really. Jones can try and claim victory here, but at the end of the day his Infowars business is still going to be sold."

In a recent episode of The Mikhaila Peterson Podcast, hosted by his daughter, Peterson cited his feud with the College of Psychologists of Ontario and concerns about a contentious bill targeting hate speech as among the key reasons for his decision to leave Canada.