Wikipedia co-founder launching Facebook, Twitter rival

Instead of going for an ad-funded model, Wales aims to finance it through donations, just like Wikipedia.

Like those platforms, WT:Social will let users share articles. But WT:Social will be funded by donations, rather than advertising.

"The business model of social media companies, of pure advertising, is problematic. It turns out the huge winner is low-quality content," Wales was quoted as saying by Financial Times, according to an Engadget report.

It started as Wikitribune -- a site that published original news stories with the community fact-checking and sub-editing articles. The venture never gained much traction, so Wales is moving it to the new platform with a more social networking focus.

WT:Social will be free to join, but at the moment, you either have to sign up for a waitlist, donate or invite friends. Just a month old, it already has 50,000 users, the Engadget report added.