I use Wikipedia extensively and, when I use it for a blog post, I cite it religiously. Having noticed recently that almost every Wikipedia article I cite had been updated fairly recently, I’ve started citing the specific edit as it existed when I accessed the article.
Free knowledge for everyone.
Wikipedia is a “free content… online encyclopedia written and maintained by a community of volunteers through a model of open collaboration.” Since 2005, it has been the single most consulted online source of information on topics for which Wikipedia has an article. As with any encyclopedia, it should not be used as a primary source for research though many see it as a good starting point.
Anyone with internet access can write articles and make changes to Wikipedia articles except in limited cases where editing is restricted to prevent disruption or vandalism. About 130,000 editors—from expert scholars to casual readers—regularly edit Wikipedia. Their work tends to improve the quality and authority of individual articles and Wikipedia as a whole.
I have made a grand total of 90 edits over 57 pages since I registered as a user on September 17, 2004. The most recent edit was an edit to the page “Three Mile Island accident” made on October 9, 2021,1 as I was composing this post. My first three were minor edits to the page “Three Mile Island accident” the same day I registered as a user.
At the time, the “Three Mile Island accident” page was only two years old and was actually not very extensive. Printed out, it’s only about 3 full pages in length.2 The current version is close to seven times the size plus lengthy reference, bibliography, and external links sections. The page has been edited 3,913 times by 2,096 contributors. The two largest edits were on July 2, 2012, when all of the content was replaced by, “you have been trolled lol,” and a minute later when user Palosirkka (no longer active) reverted the edit back to the original content.
Most changes make Wikipedia more accurate, but that is not always the case. Some edits, like the “you’ve been trolled” edit, are malicious. Others are made as practical jokes or deliberately slant the content of a page. Sometimes edits have been done to make the subject of a page appear more flattering or less flattering instead of being purely factual and objective.3
In some cases, Wikipedia pages have been written or edited by paid writers to promote products or make them more attractive, though this is strongly discouraged. Wikipedia specialists are available for hire,4 though “anyone editing for pay must disclose who is paying them, who the client is, and any other relevant affiliation.”5
Some Wikipedia edits are out and out vandalism.
Wikipedia says “vandalism is editing the project in an intentionally disruptive or malicious manner. Vandalism includes any addition, removal, or modification that is intentionally humorous, nonsensical, a hoax, or degrading in any way.”6
The majority of vandalism on Wikipedia is reverted quickly. There are various ways in which the vandalism gets detected so it can be reverted:
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- Bots: In some cases, the vandalism is automatically detected and reverted by a Wikipedia bot. The vandal is always warned with no human intervention.
- Recent changes patrol: Wikipedia has a special page that lists all the most recent changes. Some editors will monitor these changes for possible vandalism.
- Watchlists: Any registered user can watch a page that they have created or edited or that they otherwise have an interest in. This functionality also enables users to monitor a page for vandalism.
- Incidental discovery: Any reader who comes across vandalism by chance can revert it. In 2008, it was reported that the rarity of such incidental discovery indicated the efficacy of the other methods of vandalism removal.
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This post was started with the intention of exploring why so many Wikipedia articles seem to be edited so recently. What I’ve found instead is that Wikipedia is continually improving and has robust authoring and editing policies.
Most of the edits of articles I’ve cited were minor grammar or punctuation edits. Some added new and/or updated information. One edit was the removal of a promotional, for-profit link. Another reverted two previous edits for unexplained removal content. One page was added to a Wikipedia category (found at the bottom of some pages).
- In looking over the TMI Accident page, I noted it talked about an explosion in the containment structure just ten hours after the start of the accident. Having taught and used information from the accident multiple times over my years as an instructor at a facility similar to the TMI plant,—including Severe Accident Management and Mitigating Core Damage—I knew that it was a hydrogen burn and not an explosion so I added information and citation on that.
- All revisions of Wikipedia pages are readily available.
- “You Can Revise, but You Can’t Hide: Why Wikipedia Edits Leave a Trail.” OpenLearn. The Open University, May 7, 2014. Accessed October 8, 2021. https://www.open.edu…
- “27 Best Freelance Wikipedia Specialists for Hire in October 2021 – Upwork™.” Upwork. Accessed October 9, 2021. https://www.upwork.com/… freelancers/.
- “Conflict of Interest.” Wikipedia, as edited October 2, 2021. Accessed October 9, 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org… Conflict_of_interest.
- “Vandalism on Wikipedia.” Wikipedia, as edited October 2, 2021. Accessed October 8, 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org… Vandalism.
