Wikipedia co-founder and technology entrepreneur Jimmy Wales has accused Facebook of putting advertisers ahead of its 890 million users.

Facebook was launched in 2004 with a stated mission of making the world more open and connected while helping people stay in touch with family and friends. When Facebook first listed on the NASDAQ in 2012, chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said money was not the company's top priority.

Mark Zuckerberg, co-founder and head of Facebook, said at the time of the company's listing money wasn't its top priority. Credit:Simon Dawson

"Simply put: we don't build services to make money; we make money to build better services," he told would-be investors. "I think more and more people want to use services from companies that believe in something beyond simply maximising profits."

But Mr Wales said a rise in advertising and commercialism at Facebook had fundamentally changed its nature.