The creator of Wikipedia Jimmy Wales is currently facing a media furore over allegations that he agreed to edit a Wiki page in return for a donation. The online encyclopaedia has built itself a reputation for the independent delivery of information and as a reliable research resource; these accusations however may shake the internet institution right down to its foundations.
The accusations centre around a former Novell scientist named Jeffrey Merkey. Mr Merkey has stated that he donated five thousand dollars to the owner of the Wikipedia site, Wikimedia; the ‘donation’ was given in order to have the information on a specific Wiki page changed. It is believed that Mr Wales was to use his influence over the site to remove certain remarks that Merkey considered libellous. Mr Wales however has rubbished the claims declaring them as “nonsense”.
If you feel the need to investigate this yourself the pages edit history show that changes were made by Mr Wales and the page is now ‘protected’, meaning that subsequent edits cannot be made. In light of this seemingly black and white evidence Wiki’s protestations that the allegations are completely false can be considered somewhat undermined.
A Wiki spokesperson has gone further by arguing that the original offer by Merkey was never made, and the practise of taking money in order to edit pages was beyond contempt by the Wiki Foundation. The company line seems to be that Wiki consider information changes from all manner of users and any donations bear no relevance to who receives special editorial treatment. Mr Wales has turned the tables on Merkey by requesting readers to look at the source of the allegations before considering the implications to Wikipedia.
Wikipedia is a non-profit organisation that sets out to create a wealth of multi-lingual, useful information for internet users. As one of the most popular websites in the world it is important for the Wikimedia Foundation to protect its image and retain its independent reputation, without it, the position of independent information provider to the world that Wiki currently holds, is questionable.
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