A false and defamatory entry on Wikipedia, a publicly edited encyclopedia, has ignited a media frenzy over the site’s accuracy. According to the Seattle Times — a privately edited web site — the event has “touched off a debate about the reliability of information on Wikipedia.”¹

Expert private sources have discovered that because anyone can edit Wikipedia, the encyclopedia may not be completely accurate. These imperfections may have left Wikipedia “out of control.”

Wikipedia has roughly eight times more articles (715,000) than Encyclopedia Britannica (85,000).

“Anyone, but anyone, can insert an entry,” bemoaned the Times Online, owned by neoconservative media mogul Rupert Murdoch.² Murdoch prefers that information be disseminated from his company, which “is a reflection of my thinking, my character, my values.”³

Analysts with the Seattle Times have made even greater leaps, noting that if Wikipedia has some inaccuracy, the entire internet may contain inaccuracies as well.⁴ However, that study is still under review.