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[-] BrainInABox@lemmy.ml 2 points 6 days ago

bad (eg not recommended by Wikipedia)

If you want to know why misinformation is so prominent, the fact that you think this is a good standard is a big part of it.

Step 1 is teaching journalism and social media hygiene as a dedicated class in school

And will those classes be teaching "Wikipedia is the indisputable rock of factuality, the holy Scripture from which truth flows"?

[-] brucethemoose@lemmy.world 1 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

It’s not of course, but it’s a good start. Certainly good enough to use as a quick but fallible reference:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Reliable_sources/Perennial_sources

As I heard someone else here quote, perfect is the enemy of good.

[-] BrainInABox@lemmy.ml 1 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

It’s not of course, but it’s a good start. Certainly good enough to use as a quick but fallible reference:

No, it really isn't. The fact that Wikipedia has been arbitrarily vested with such supreme authority to be the default source of truth by so many people is a big part of why misinformation is so common. Back in my day, even high schoolers were taught not to do that.

[-] brucethemoose@lemmy.world 1 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

Yes, I remember too. We were specifically told not to use Wikipedia.

Then information hygiene went to shit. Now it's a rare oasis in the current landscape.

Look, I'm not saying to start referencing Wikipedia in scholarly journals or papers. But it's more accessible than some JSTOR database and way above average, and more of the population using it would be a wonderful thing. The vast majority of the time, Wikipedia is not the source of misinformation/disinformation in this world.

[-] BrainInABox@lemmy.ml 1 points 5 days ago

Then information hygiene went to shit. Now it’s a rare oasis in the current landscape.

It went to shit because people started treating low quality sources like Wikipedia as "a rare oasis".

The vast majority of the time, Wikipedia is not the source of misinformation/disinformation in this world.

Are you sure about that?

[-] brucethemoose@lemmy.world 1 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

...You're kidding, right?

I'm looking around the information landscape around me, and Wikipedia is not even in the top 1000 of disinformation peddlers. They make mistakes, but they aren't literally lying and propagandizing millions of people on purpose.

[-] BrainInABox@lemmy.ml 1 points 5 days ago

and Wikipedia is not even in the top 1000 of disinformation peddlers.

And you determined this how?

They make mistakes, but they aren’t literally lying and propagandizing millions of people on purpose.

And you determined this how?

this post was submitted on 04 Aug 2025
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