[WikiEN-l] Ken Lay's death prompts confusion on Reuters

[Andrew Lih]

On 7/9/06, Anthony <wikilegal at inbox.org> wrote:
> Why is it that Wikipedians seem to have so much trouble accepting
> legitimate criticism?

Legitimate criticism should be welcomed, but when the headline says
"Wikipedia" as a whole has "confusion" and was "reeling," then that's
sensational.

Academics and reporters who know that I've published about Wikipedia
ask me - "So, how is that crisis on Wikipedia on Ken Lay?" One even
requested to do a TV interview about it.

I've written a response on my blog to these folks, explaining the
lifescycle of a Wikipedia article:
http://www.andrewlih.com/blog/2006/07/05/wikipedias-ken-lay-problem/

> Wikipedia should be getting its facts *more* correct than the news
> outlets, not less.  I remember a similar mess after the death of
> [[Jean Charles de Menezes]].  Wikipedia articles repeated
> unsubstantiated rumor as though it was fact.

Since Wikipedia depends on the first-hand reporting from news outlets,
it can only be as good as the ability of human editors to converge on
the best version of "the truth" using those sources.

-Andrew