Showing posts with label wikipedia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wikipedia. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Wikipedia, Sure Font of Truth

On the wonderfully opinionated blog, Opinione, I found this very useful essay on Wikipedia, and the internet in general.
Some examples of altered wikipedia entries altered from computers with IP addresses linked to wikipedia entries critical of them include the wikipedia page on Wal-Mart from the original posting on wikipedia, which states: Wages at Wal-Mart are about 20% less than at other retail stores. Founder Sam Walton once argued that his company should be exempt from the minimum wage. A computer with a Wal-Mart IP address was found to have changed it to, The average wage at Wal-Mart is almost double the federal minimum wage (Wal-Mart)

Other examples given had a more conspiratorial flavor, the CIA and FBI of course as well as the site for Dow Chemical.

I personally don't worry about this too much because I treat everything I read on Wikipedia and the rest of the internet just like I treat any statistics I come across. If it doesn't mesh with my pre-conceived ideas, out it goes. It's obviously biased.

What's your opinion? Are there internet sites you trust to deliver unspun truth? Or is it all suspect?