[WikiEN-l] Verifiability and Africa

[Alphax (Wikipedia email)]

Steve Bennett wrote:
> On 3/3/06, Zoney <zoney.ie at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
>>I'll point out that I think it's most sensible to rely only on verified
>>information, but Wikipedia has not in the past seriously implemented such
>>theoretical ideals. If people are going to start doing so, do it across the
>>board please. I don't doubt the encyclopaedia would be a vast amount smaller
>>and less broad if only verified information is left in it! Wikipedia has not
>>succeeded at even beginning to conform to its ideals.
> 
> 
> 
> You're confusing "verified" and "verifiable". All Wikipedia requires
> is that information actually has been published or is otherwise
> verifiable. We don't do fact checking, per se.
> 

Can anyone answer me why we *don't* do fact checking? Given that we're
so big on asking for sources/references (which we're clearly not, yet),
who is actually checking them? Or isn't anyone?

Does anyone know of a WikiProject which goes through articles and checks
that the references actually say what people are claiming they say? If
there's not one, who will start it? I for one would be interested in
doing some of this stuff; I have access to at least two good libraries
(University & State) and could easily spare an hour a week to do this
kind of stuff.

-- 
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