Hi all,
I'm a relative newcommer to Wikidata but long time OpenStreetMap contributor.
Recently OpenStreetMap has a situation where large numbers of translated names have been added to OSM objects. When asked about the origin of these names, I've been told a number of places, one of which is Wikidata.
What appears to be happening, from what I've seen, is that there's a small number of users copying data from other (not so reliable) sources, and then putting that data in Wikidata as aliases for place names, then when asked where the place names are from, they say "Wikidata".
The problem here is that many of these "translations" are simply made up. They're either transliterations or word for word translations, rather than being genuine names in another language.
Unfortunately, it's my understanding that Wikidata aliases can't be sourced (ie they can't be validated or invalidated like other facts).
If this is the case, it's a problem for both our projects.
I'd planned on my own implementation of using Wikidata names for places in OSM to create custom renderings, but we need to be able to know that the place names are something we can trace back and source properly.
- Serge