Is Wikipedia Reliable?

by | Last updated on January 24, 2024

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The online encyclopedia

does not consider itself to be a reliable source

and discourages readers from using it in academic or research settings. Researchers, teachers, journalists, and public officials do not regard Wikipedia as a reliable source.

Can we trust Wikipedia?


We do not expect you to trust us

Also, since Wikipedia can be edited by anyone at any time, articles may be prone to errors, including vandalism, so Wikipedia is not a reliable source. So please do not use Wikipedia to make critical decisions.

Is Wikipedia reliable 2021?


Wikipedia is not a reliable source for

elsewhere on Wikipedia. Because it can be edited by anyone at any time, any information it contains at a particular time could be vandalism, a work in progress, or just plain wrong. … Therefore, Wikipedia should not be considered a definitive source in and of itself.

How accurate is Wikipedia information?

Overall, Wikipedia's

accuracy rate was 80 percent

compared with 95-96 percent accuracy within the other sources.”

Why Wikipedia is a bad source?

However, citation of Wikipedia in research papers may be considered unacceptable, because

Wikipedia is not a reliable source

. … This is because Wikipedia can be edited by anyone at any moment. Although when an error is recognized, it is usually fixed.

Is Britannica better than Wikipedia?

Wikipedia scored highest on all criteria except readability, and the authors concluded that

Wikipedia is as good as or better than Britannica

and a standard textbook.

Can Wikipedia be edited by anyone?

Wikipedia is a wiki, meaning

anyone can edit nearly any page and improve articles immediately

. You do not need to register to do this, and anyone who has edited is known as a Wikipedian or editor. Small edits add up, and every editor can be proud to have made Wikipedia better for all.

Does Google own Wikipedia?

Google is pouring an

additional $3.1 million into Wikipedia

, bringing its total contribution to the free encyclopedia over the past decade to more than $7.5 million, the company announced at the World Economic Forum Tuesday.

Does Wikipedia Make Money?


Wikipedia makes money via donations, investments, as well as merchandise sales

. In the future, it plans to launch an API that charges enterprises a fee for access to its data. Founded in 2001, Wikipedia has grown to become one of the world's most-frequented websites.

Is donating to Wikipedia safe?

In a 2015 blog post, WMF had clarified that the

“small donations” it seeks are used to keep Wikipedia

and its sister sites safe, secure, fast and available. They also help pay for the salaries of all the editors and and staff who work with Wikimedia to provide correct and edited content with readers around the globe.

Is Wikipedia the best?

Wikipedia is

by far the world's largest encyclopedia

; it is the largest, most comprehensive, and most accessible compilation of knowledge to exist in the history of the human race. … Wikipedia is not paper, and that is a good thing because articles are not strictly limited in size as they are with paper encyclopedias.

Is Wikipedia blocked in China?

China. Access to Wikipedia has varied over the years with the Chinese language version being controlled more tightly than other versions. As of April 2019, all versions of Wikipedia are blocked in Mainland China under the Great Firewall. … Wikipedia was again blocked in China in October 2005.

How much is Wikipedia worth?

Abbreviation WMF Products Wikipedia, Wiktionary, Wikimedia Commons, Wikidata, Wikiquote, Wikibooks, Wikisource, Wikispecies, Wikinews, Wikiversity, Wikivoyage, MediaWiki Membership Board-only Revenue US$127.2 million (2020) 122.1 million (2019)
Expenses


US$112.5 million (2020) 91.4 million (2019)

How does Wikipedia know everything?

In the English Wikipedia, verifiability means other people using the encyclopedia can check that the information comes from a reliable source. Wikipedia does not publish original research.

Its content is determined by previously published information

rather than the beliefs or experiences of editors.

Is Wikipedia biased?

The authors found that “

Wikipedia articles are more slanted towards Democratic views than

are Britannica articles, as well as more biased”, particularly those focusing on civil rights, corporations, and government.

Do people prefer Britannica over Wikipedia?

In almost all cases,

Wikipedia was more left-leaning than Britannica

. … In other words, for articles of the same length, Wikipedia is as middle-of-the-road as Britannica. “If you read 100 words of a Wikipedia article, and 100 words of a Britannica [article], you will find no significant difference in bias,” says Zhu.

Charlene Dyck
Author
Charlene Dyck
Charlene is a software developer and technology expert with a degree in computer science. She has worked for major tech companies and has a keen understanding of how computers and electronics work. Sarah is also an advocate for digital privacy and security.