Wikipedia has become the de facto research resource for so many people. It's an easy place to turn when pondering life's questions, like who is Proust or where is the Southern Ocean?
Some news reports claim it's as accurate as Encyclopedia Britannica, which is amazing considering it's user edited. That's right – anyone with a computer and an Internet connection can edit or write about any topic they choose. It's part of the lure of the Web site. An individual expert on any given topic can create an entry to make Wikipedia the best online resource. See for yourself. It's such a great idea, what could go wrong?
Just ask John Seigenthaler. No not the NBC Nightly news host, the 78-year-old former assistant to Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy. He's a long-time defender and advocate of First Amendment rights. In fact, he started First Amendment Center to "preserve and protect First Amendment freedoms through information and education."
So why would someone write a fraudulent biography on Wikipedia about Seigenthaler that links him to the assassinations of both John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy?
Check out the USA Today article about the "biography."
Is this just par for the course? Should Seigenthaler not mind the implication and just consider the source – an open-content encyclopedia? But a large number of people do consider Wikipedia a reliable source for information.
After the firestorm of media coverage, the original creator of Seigenthaler's bogus biography admitted to writing the biography as a joke.
Some virtual citizen journalist have minimized the impact of the biography and have encouraged Seigenthaler to post a rebuttal. But that's not the point here.
This example of a joke gone wrong reminds us that accuracy still matters in cyberspace – even if it is Wikipedia.
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