Wiki-politicians; Muslims (still) mad at America; thanks
1. On Wikipedia as a reference source
This article was kind of buried in yesterday's Washington Post, but apparently staffers on U.S. politicians are burnishing their bosses' Wikipedia entries. This, of course, isn't against the rules, but it brings up more issues with using the site as anything other than a starting-block reference.
Some of the changes are apparently justified. Rep. Lee Terry (R-Neb.) discovered that his Wikipedia entry claimed that "he likes to beat his wife and children." Terry removed that line, the Post writes.
British and other politicians have gotten into the act, according to the Guardian.
Wikipedia's founder has said that's all he thinks his site should only be a starting point before doing real, quotable research. He had to defend the method quite a bit when legendary journalist John Seigenthaler Sr. discovered his own Wiki entry said he was involved in the RFK assassination. (See the Wikipedia entry on the controversy for a bit of irony.)
The big problem with message board-style reference material is that plenty of people are using Wikipedia for serious research. A professor of mine at my not-very-esteemed alma mater, the University of Cincinnati, issued a warning that no Wikipedia references were permitted in research papers. Yet students regularly include them, she said.
2. Some cartoon protesters now including U.S. in rage
I've written previously that the protesters have been unfairly focusing on Denmark, when at least a dozen other countries' free presses - including those in the United States - have published the same cartoons.
Well, they're on to us now.
Some of the previous protests might have evolved into anti-West/U.S./Israel sentiments, but this one in Malaysia seemed to have included it as a central theme. From the BBC:
Friday's demonstration was the biggest in Malaysia's capital for years.
"Long live Islam. Destroy Denmark. Destroy Israel. Destroy George Bush. Destroy America," protesters shouted as they marched to the Danish embassy in the rain from a nearby mosque.
Gig's up.
3. Side note/props/thanks:
Proflific writer and insightful thinker Kevin S. at Dropout/Postgad had some kind words about this humble blog today. Thanks!
This article was kind of buried in yesterday's Washington Post, but apparently staffers on U.S. politicians are burnishing their bosses' Wikipedia entries. This, of course, isn't against the rules, but it brings up more issues with using the site as anything other than a starting-block reference.
Some of the changes are apparently justified. Rep. Lee Terry (R-Neb.) discovered that his Wikipedia entry claimed that "he likes to beat his wife and children." Terry removed that line, the Post writes.
British and other politicians have gotten into the act, according to the Guardian.
Wikipedia's founder has said that's all he thinks his site should only be a starting point before doing real, quotable research. He had to defend the method quite a bit when legendary journalist John Seigenthaler Sr. discovered his own Wiki entry said he was involved in the RFK assassination. (See the Wikipedia entry on the controversy for a bit of irony.)
The big problem with message board-style reference material is that plenty of people are using Wikipedia for serious research. A professor of mine at my not-very-esteemed alma mater, the University of Cincinnati, issued a warning that no Wikipedia references were permitted in research papers. Yet students regularly include them, she said.
2. Some cartoon protesters now including U.S. in rage
I've written previously that the protesters have been unfairly focusing on Denmark, when at least a dozen other countries' free presses - including those in the United States - have published the same cartoons.
Well, they're on to us now.
Some of the previous protests might have evolved into anti-West/U.S./Israel sentiments, but this one in Malaysia seemed to have included it as a central theme. From the BBC:
Friday's demonstration was the biggest in Malaysia's capital for years.
"Long live Islam. Destroy Denmark. Destroy Israel. Destroy George Bush. Destroy America," protesters shouted as they marched to the Danish embassy in the rain from a nearby mosque.
Gig's up.
3. Side note/props/thanks:
Proflific writer and insightful thinker Kevin S. at Dropout/Postgad had some kind words about this humble blog today. Thanks!
posted by bp at
9:50 AM
1 Comments:
I heard the wikipedia story on NPR a few days ago. I think it's inevitable, but at least wikipedia has one significant advantage: transparency.
There's sure to be bias in other publications or relevant facts ommitted. The problem is, who checks on them? And how?
I'm certainly skeptical of wikipedia on political topics (less so on other things). But it's probably a good idea to just click on the "history" or "discussion" tabs of each entry, to see how it has changed over time. That's how the changes in the politicians' entries were discovered (because ALL previous versions are cached, as well as the IP number of each poster).
Still, didn't a recent study find that it was more accurate (or just as accurate & un/biased) as the Encyclopedia Britannica? I think if we give wikipedia a few more years (or just months), it'll get close to regulating itself internally. But on recent/controversial entries, it's important to see the history of the post, to see how it has changed (something you can't do w/ most other reference sources).
By
Miguel Centellas, at 11:26 AM
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