Encyclopedia Dramatica

Article summary

Encyclopedia Dramatica (ED or æ; stylized as Encyclopædia Dramatica) is an online community website, centered around a wiki. The website's articles use an encyclopedic style to parody topics and events relevant to contemporary internet culture. Encyclopedia Dramatica also serves as a repository of information and a means of discussion for the hacker group known as Anonymous. An article in The New York Times said that the wiki was "effectively" acting as a "troll archive". It celebrates its subversive "NSFW" "troll site culture" and documents internet memes, events such as mass organized pranks, trolling events called "raids", large-scale failures of internet security, and criticism by its users of other internet communities they accuse of censoring themselves in order to garner positive coverage from traditional and established media outlets. The site hosts numerous pornographic and gore images, along with misogynistic, racist, and homophobic content. On April 14, 2011, the original URL of the site was redirected to a new website named "Oh Internet" that bore little resemblance to Encyclopedia Dramatica. Parts of the ED community harshly criticized the changes. On the night of the Encyclopedia Dramatica shutdown, regular ED visitors bombarded the 'Oh Internet' Facebook wall with hate messages.…

Key claims

1. date of foundation: 2004 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95

Discussion questions

1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
2. The record states that the date of foundation is "2004". What evidence would count against this claim?
3. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
4. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

Bibliography

1. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1378649214