Wikipedia and Virgil Griffith

This was a very intelligent and gutsy move on the part of Cal Tech student, Virgil Griffith, who developed the WikiScanner tool. This allowed him to trace edits made by individuals and corporations to Wikipedia through their username or IP addresses. I have always been told by my professors here at South Alabama NOT to use Wikipedia as a source, and I do not. This must be why they have such disdain for it. Virtually anyone can make changes to the site to suit their needs or serve their purpose. There is definitely an argument for its validity, as well as its questionable credibility. The post regarding the Encyclopedia Britannica, and why their information is considered “credible” while Wikipedia’s is viewed as junk, raises an interesting question. How do we ascertain which sources are more credible and reliable? It is my opinion that there is bound to be some incorrect information printed in Encyclopedia Britannica. But Wikipedia would be subject to a greater misinformation rate due to the fact that basically everyone has a computer at their fingertips and can edit or add to the site on a whim.

Wikipedia calls itself "the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit," so one should expect “sketchy” information, and not assume it is ALL facts. Interestingly, it is perfectly legal to edit Wikipedia sites, but thanks to Virgil and his WikiScanner, the source of these changes can no longer be assured of the anonymity they have long enjoyed. Politicians are the majority when it comes to changes made to sites on Wikipedia. This is one reason I have never used this site as a source. And once I begin teaching I will not allow my students to use Wikipedia as a source either, not unless there are monumental changes between now and then. I must say, I was shocked to learn that even WalMart altered information about minimum wage on their site. Diebold, the voter machine company, changed details regarding the integrity of their voting machines, with one person deleting 15 paragraphs in November, 2005. Changes have also been notoriously made by actor turned politician, Al Franken, Fox News, as well as members of Congress! It was responsible of Virgil Griffith to check on the accuracy of edits belonging to the large pharmaceutical companies.

I believe government organizations such as the FBI and CIA should be prohibited from making edits. There are hopes that this tool will eventually improve Wikipedia since it will be much easier to find the trail of the editor. But someone determined to put a spin on their site or alter information can edit via a Wifi connection or web proxy that cannot be traced. Therefore, I feel is will be nearly impossible to rely on Wikipedia as a credible source of factual information.