Susan Gerbic

Susan Gerbic is an American skeptical activist born in 1962 in Salinas, California, who became one of the most effective grassroots organizers in the global skeptical movement. In 2010 she founded Guerrilla Skepticism on Wikipedia (GSoW), a coordinated volunteer project dedicated to improving Wikipedia's coverage of scientific topics, correcting paranormal and pseudoscience articles, and writing high-quality biographies of scientists and science communicators. As of 2024, the project has produced over 2,200 articles read more than 170 million times, making it one of the most impactful science communication initiatives on the internet.

Gerbic's professional background is in studio photography, but she has dedicated decades to skeptical outreach. She is a fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, a regular columnist for Skeptical Inquirer magazine, and co-founder of Monterey County Skeptics. She has received multiple awards for her activism, including the James Randi Foundation award in 2017, the Center for Inquiry's Balles Award for Critical Thinking in 2019, and the Philip J. Klass Award from the National Capital Area Skeptics in 2022.

Beyond Wikipedia, Gerbic is known for her investigations into cold-reading psychics and mediums, attending performances with other skeptical investigators to document and expose the techniques used to create the illusion of genuine supernatural communication. She speaks frequently at skeptical conferences and has been a recurring guest on science and skepticism podcasts. Her GSoW project is distinctive in taking skepticism directly into the world's most consulted encyclopedia rather than preaching to audiences already convinced of scientific values.