The numbers from the complaint
79%
of the current article's content authored by “Throast” and “Popoki35”, per Wikipedia's own authorship-tracking tools
86%
of the 92 footnoted sources retrieved during the period of Ethan Klein's anti-Kavanaugh content (80 of 92)
69 / 92
sources retrieved between November 2021 and February 2022 alone
Honors and awards
Listed honors and awards included the 2011 Variety Showman of the Year recognition, ADL humanitarian recognition, the Cedars-Sinai Board of Governors honor, and the Forbes 400 list of America's top charitable people.
The complaint identifies the removal of the 2011 “Showman of the Year” award from Variety as one of the specific edits documented in the August 2025 demand letter.
UCLA degree
The article's early-life section recorded Mr. Kavanaugh's education at UCLA as a matter of biographical fact, consistent with the UCLA Registrar's records.
The complaint identifies the addition of a paragraph dwelling on an unfounded controversy over whether he graduated from UCLA. Per the demand letter, UCLA's official registrar confirmed his degree directly to Wikipedia. The page's representative position is described in the August 2025 letter as treating the UCLA Registrar as not a “reliable source.”
“Ponzi scheme” framing
No prominently placed “Ponzi scheme” allegation appeared in the April 2021 article.
The complaint identifies the prominent placement of a “Ponzi scheme” allegation. According to the complaint, the supposed accuser later publicly disclaimed the framing in Variety, telling the publication: “any reference to ESX or any related business as a 'Ponzi Scheme' is not accurate.” That disclaimer does not appear on the current article.
What the article said about him in 2021
The full text of the April 2021 article is reproduced at /kavanaugh-2021 under Wikipedia's CC BY-SA 4.0 license. Among the elements present in the April 2021 article and structurally altered or de-emphasized in the current version, according to the complaint and demand letter:
- His role as architect of the slate-financing model that funded a substantial portion of major-studio output in the 2000s
- His responsibility for the first SVOD output deal with Netflix (a transaction the complaint cites among his career landmarks)
- His Variety “Billion Dollar Producer” recognition (the first individual so designated)
- His Forbes 400 list of America's top charitable people placement
- His ADL prestigious humanitarian award
- His recognition by the Cedars-Sinai Board of Governors for charitable work
- The chronology of Relativity Media's founding, peak output, and corporate transitions, including the leadership composition of its board (including, per the complaint, then-chairman Steven Mnuchin, vice-chairman Tucker Tooley, and primary board member Mark Canton)
Who, according to the complaint, made the changes
The complaint, filed February 20, 2026 by Mr. Kavanaugh's attorneys at JW Howard/Attorneys, Ltd., alleges that two anonymous Wikipedia editors using the handles “Throast” and “Popoki35” were responsible for the bulk of the changes. The 79% figure above comes from Wikipedia's own authorship-tracking tools. The complaint attaches as Exhibit A a sworn declaration from YouTube personality Ethan Klein dated June 12, 2025, in which Mr. Klein acknowledges having “caused, influenced, encouraged, and indirectly helped coordinate the attack with both of the aforementioned editors” and that the editors “did [it] for compensation.” A private investigation cited in the complaint identifies Popoki35 as Sara Kathleen Smith, a California resident; Throast's identity remains undisclosed.
The court question
The legal question now sits before Judge Lisa K. Sepe-Wiesenfeld of the Santa Monica Courthouse in the case styled Kavanaugh v. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., No. 26SMCV01004. A hearing on Wikimedia's demurrer is scheduled for October 29, 2026, in Department N. For the substance of the demurrer — including Wikimedia's argument that the word “trustworthy” on its donation page is “inherently subjective and unquantifiable” puffery — see our full coverage of the lawsuit and its filings.