Hi all -
As a librarian who uses and supports Wikipedia, I wanted to bring up some
issues around the BuzzFeed article posted today about M-Journal that has
led to some messaging from the WikipediaUK twitter account that I find
concerning. I'm not sure if this is the appropriate place to bring this up,
but I wasn't sure where else to reach out.
For those who missed, a citation cite is not manufacturing journal articles
if a student submits a Wiki article so that it looks like an "official"
citation in their school research papers.
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ryanhatesthis/wikipedia-fake-academic-…
Clearly there are some nefarious potential uses here, but what's more
concerning is that the WikiUK twitter account has come forward forcefully
saying that Wikipedia shouldn't be cited in the literature. Period.
https://twitter.com/wikimediauk/status/1177215917534711808
I work very hard to improve the cite through my courses and academic
advocacy as do many librarians. It's concern to me to see Wikipedia
undermining its own authority in such a public way in what appears to be a
misguided attempt to deflect association with the MJournal site.
Would welcome any insight or ideas on how to navigate this discussion. The
entire M-Journal use case exists, imho, because we are still battling for a
critical (not blanket acceptance) view of Wiki as a resources, and I find
this kind of public statement to be very damaging to the hard work so many
are doing to create a quality information resource.
Best,
Kathleen DeLaurenti