Issues With a Wiki World7624981
Z WikiSennik
As the internet continues to grow and the free flow of information continues to be facilitated, the problem of human error and bias enters more and more into our world. Blogs and wikis alike suffer from this already, and the issue compounds itself as both mediums become more popular and information becomes recycled by more and more people (the 'retweet' phenomena.)
As Wikipedia itself correctly identifies, "Anyone can change an article in Wikipedia. This means it is difficult to say if something that is written in Wikipedia is true, or accurate." This issue finds itself reincarnated in the new journalist's arena, where news sources rush to be the first to report on something, often sacrificing informational integrity in the name of 'breaking news.' As news providers becomes more focused on being the first to obtain a story, fact checking will inevitably be placed on the back-burner, creating an informational economy in which nobody knows what news is valid from what is fake or inaccurate.
The problem of bias is huge, as it has been since journalism first began. Simply put, one's beliefs and ideologies leak into their work, especially in the world of journalism. This problem is particularly noticeable in technology-related news, as journalists distort and in some cases even hide information based on their company preferences and consumer loyalties. This issue spreads beyond the internet, and outside of rigorous fact checking has no solution, but the decentralized and deregulated nature of the internet has provided a breeding ground for this type of behavior.
Finally, the censorship of information threatens to further dilute the purity of information on the internet. As seen in the incident involving Jeff Gerstmann and Gamespot, people perceive that information can be bought and influenced by money, and opinions counter to those of the highest bidder can be erased.
In an environment like this, the question of who and what sources can be trusted is difficult. The wiki world is one filled with brilliant ideas and to-the-minute news, but one must always be aware of what occurs behind the screen.
