[WikiEN-l] News agencies are not RSs

[Gwern Branwen]

'Keeping News of Kidnapping Off Wikipedia'
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/29/technology/internet/29wiki.html

"A dozen times, user-editors posted word of the kidnapping on
Wikipedia’s page on Mr. Rohde, only to have it erased. Several times
the page was frozen, preventing further editing — a convoluted game of
cat-and-mouse that clearly angered the people who were trying to
spread the information of the kidnapping."
...
"The sanitizing was a team effort, led by Jimmy Wales, co-founder of
Wikipedia, along with Wikipedia administrators and people at The
Times. In an interview, Mr. Wales said that Wikipedia’s cooperation
was not a given.
“We were really helped by the fact that it hadn’t appeared in a place
we would regard as a reliable source,” he said. “I would have had a
really hard time with it if it had.”"
...
"The Wikipedia page history shows that the next day, Nov. 13, someone
without a user name edited the entry on Mr. Rohde for the first time
to include the kidnapping. Mr. Moss deleted the addition, and the same
unidentified user promptly restored it, adding a note protesting the
removal. The unnamed editor cited an Afghan news agency report. In the
first few days, at least two small news agencies and a handful of
blogs reported the kidnapping. "
...
" When the news broke Saturday, the user from Florida reposted the
information, with a note to administrators that said: “Is that enough
proof for you [expletives]? I was right. You were WRONG.”"

-- 
gwern