Wikipedia and Factchecking
Bill Ives writes about his concern for facts in Wikipedia, which are also some of my concerns. I went to a Wikipedia meetup a few weeks ago and mostly listened to the Wikipedians talk about different issues related to the wiki. I found it, well, rather fascinating, actually. (I can’t believe I’m admitting that in a public forum.) After the meeting, I had the opportunity to talk with several of them about their efforts to do factchecking and quality control. I learned that there are mechanisms in place and some of the contributors really care about making it a high quality product. That’s not to say it will be completely without errors all of the time–and they acknowledge that on some level–but it is very reassuring to me to know about their efforts. Also, many of the entries are written by subject specialists and others who are quite familiar with the subject.
I know exactly what Bill is talking about when he mentions errors that have been handed down through the years as facts. Many books claim that Harvard University was founded in 1638 as a Christian school affiliated with a particular denomination. (That varies based on the book.) I have no idea how this false information began or how it keeps spreading. You’d think people would go to the source to learn about the university’s history, but that false information is in so many places–and if it’s in a book, it must be true–why should they doubt its validity?
