Sunday, July 1, 2007

Wikipedia and Truth (Whatever That Is)

Jonathan Dee in today's New York Times Magazine examines the relationships among Wikipedia, news, and the notion of truth. Using recent examples of the treatment of current events such as the Virginia Tech shooting, the death of Jerry Falwell, and the arrest of Muslim men in an alleged plot to attach Fort Dix, he describes the processes by which articles end up on Wikipedia. Interestingly, the process challenges the notion that all news is now subjective. According to Dee, the Wikipedia administrators effectively "police bias" in ways that other news outlets do not. There's a lot to consider here, whether you're an opponent or an advocate of Wikipedia.

1 comment:

Jaime said...

I just did a presentation for a group of composition instructors about how to incorporate technology, including Wikipedia, into the comp class, and there was some skepticism among some of the participants about the legitimacy of Wikipedia. I used the New York Times article posted on this blog to defend my position that Wikipedia can be used effectively as a gateway to more thorough, "legitimate" sources and that we should educate students about what Wikipedia is and how it can be used in a legitimate way.

 
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