Paid Wikipedia editing & disclosure series, 2015
Drawing by Nicholas Boudreau, licensed CC BY
Follow us:
Author Archives: Pete Forsyth
Katherine Maher on Wikimedia’s evolving strategic priorities: Reflections on her WikiCite 2018 talk
I relished the opportunity to hear Katherine Maher, executive director of the Wikimedia Foundation, speak about strategic priorities at the November 2018 WikiCite conference. The organization has had its ups and downs in strategic planning over the years. This was … Continue reading
Proposal for funding from the AI Ethics Challenge
I submitted the following project proposal for the Artificial Intelligence Ethics Challenge: Unpacking Wikipedia’s Lessons for Journalism In its 18 years, Wikipedia has established itself as a titan of the Internet, built on a model utterly different from other top … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Leave a comment
A proven innovation could benefit Facebook’s users—and its shareholders, too.
Concern about social media and the quality of news is running high, with many commentators focusing on bias and factual accuracy (often summarized as “fake news”). If efforts to regulate sites like Facebook are successful, they could affect the bottom … Continue reading
Posted in core, governance, history, journalism, leadership, User experience, wiki, Wikimedia Foundation, Wikipedia
Leave a comment
“Open” everything, and minimal financial needs: Wikipedia’s strengths
What insulates Wikipedia from the criticisms other massive platforms endure? We explored some answers—core values, lack of personalization algorithms, and lack of data collection—in last week’s “How Wikipedia Dodged Public Outcry Plaguing Social Media Platforms.” But wait, there’s more: Wikipedia … Continue reading
How Wikipedia dodged public outcry plaguing social media platforms
Everybody has an opinion about how to govern social media platforms. It’s mostly because they’ve shown they’re not too good at governing themselves. We see headlines about which famous trolls are banned from what sites. Tech company executives are getting … Continue reading
Posted in core, governance, journalism, Statements of Ethics, Uncategorized, wiki, Wikipedia
Leave a comment
Wikipedia’s ban of Daily Mail exposes news publisher flaws
Who doesn’t love a good media feud? As reported by the Guardian on February 8, the English language Wikipedia has (mostly) banned the Daily Mail as an acceptable source for citation, after declaring it “unreliable”. The report touched a nerve; the Mail swiftly issued … Continue reading
Posted in governance, journalism, wiki, Wikipedia
3 Comments
Wikipedia, controversy, and an acclaimed documentary
The Hunting Ground, a 2015 documentary about sexual assault on college campuses exposed conflicts of interest, malfeasance and cover-ups. To learn about a complex topic—especially if powerful institutions have a major stake in it—we rely on experts. People who devote … Continue reading
No, Congresswoman: WikiLeaks has nothing to do with Wikipedia
Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee of Houston is the latest prominent figure to confuse Wikipedia with WikiLeaks. This confusion goes back many years; it often flares up when WikiLeaks releases capture the public’s attention. In 2010, for instance, when WikiLeaks released … Continue reading
Posted in governance, government, history, journalism, wiki, Wikimedia Foundation, Wikipedia
Leave a comment
Cupcake with feeling: Getting quotes and taking names
The news ain’t what it used to be…a recent story that ran in multiple Portland, Oregon news outlets took a single, anonymous Yelp comment as evidence of a “controversy.” Fortunately, I got to be at the bakery the story covered … Continue reading
Posted in events, journalism, Oregon
Leave a comment
ACTRIAL: Wikipedia volunteer leadership should be recognized
The Wikimedia Foundation (WMF) is inviting commentary on how to recognize and encourage informal leadership in the volunteer community. (The consultation runs from September 20 through October 16, 2016.) This is a welcome initiative; the Wikimedia movement has not done … Continue reading
Posted in governance, history, leadership, Uncategorized, wiki, Wikimedia Foundation, Wikipedia
9 Comments
User:Peteforsyth
Pete Forsyth