(I would appreciate it if someone could forward this to wikipedia-l, since I am no longer subscribed there.)

You may have heard about the "class action lawsuit" against Wikipedia (http://www.wikipediaclassaction.org - .com is a parody). You may also have heard that this "lawsuit" is linked to [[QuakeAID]], an alleged charity soliciting donations for earthquake victims. You may know that Wikipedians have raised many doubts about the legitimacy of this charity, and have linked it to a convicted fraudster, Greg Lloyd Smith.

Finally, you may be aware that "QuakeAID" is publishing, through its associated BAOU.com / OfficialWire site (currently still indexed by Google News), one article after the other against Wikipedia. A recent one has described Wikipedia as a breeding ground for pedophiles, and is linked to another recently created campaign website, Wikipedophilia.com. (You probably do not know that the same news wire also publishes stories endorsing Holocaust deniers Zündel and Faurisson.)

More is probably to come. BAOU.com, "QuakeAID"'s parent company, seems to be trying to do everything possible to discredit Wikipedia, after Wikipedia has discredited QuakeAID. I think it's time for them to learn that wikis have teeth.

This is a very, very serious issue and not just some troll setting up anti-wiki websites. QuakeAID has been, for some time, listed in major charity directories, and people wanting to donate money for the 2004 tsunami victims were sent there. I don't know how much money they received, but it must be substantial.

_If_ this charity is a fraud (and that part is _not_ certain at this point), it's a large scale operation (registered with the IRS), and the person running it should be put behind bars. So if you've ever fancied yourself a private detective or investigative reporter, this is your chance:

Wikinews is conducting a full and thorough investigation into all matters related to QuakeAID and BOAU.com. I have tried to accumulate all the information in Wikipedia and elsewhere in one place, but I will not have time to commit myself beyond this. So this will either sink or swim with your involvement. If the evidence is solid, we can publish this story, and send a nice dossier to the FBI. If we don't do anything, BAOU.com will continue its anti-wiki campaign, or disappear quietly.

If you do want to join the effort of researching this, please visit:

http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Wikinews_talk:Story_preparation/Wikipedia_class_...

If this URL breaks, use:

http://tinyurl.com/bh9m2

This is a historic chance for the Wikinews, Wikipedia and blog communities to work together. Let's not screw it up.

Erik