Wikipedia

Article summary

Wikipedia is a free online encyclopedia written and maintained by a community of volunteer editors, known as Wikipedians, through open collaboration and the wiki software MediaWiki. Founded by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger in 2001, Wikipedia has been hosted since 2003 by the Wikimedia Foundation, an American nonprofit organization funded mainly by donations from readers. Wikipedia is the largest and most read reference work in history. Initially available only in English, Wikipedia has grown to over 300 languages and is one of the world's most visited websites . The English Wikipedia, with over million articles, remains the largest of the editions, which together comprise more than articles and attract more than 1.5 billion unique device visits and 13 million edits per month (about five edits per second on average) over 25% of Wikipedia's traffic comes from the United States, while Japan accounts for nearly 7%, and the United Kingdom, Germany, and Russia each represent around 5%. Wikipedia has been praised for its internal structure and culture, enabling the democratization of knowledge, and for its extensive coverage on various topics. The encyclopedia has also been criticized for systemic bias, such as a gender bias against women and a geographical bias against the Global South.…

Key claims

1. date of foundation: 2001 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
2. employees: 200 employees — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
3. employees: 700 employees — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
4. publication date: 2012 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
5. release date: 2006 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
6. release date: 2009 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
7. release date: 2012 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
8. release date: 2013-04-03 — 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 "2001". What evidence would count against this claim?
3. The record states that the employees is "200 employees". What evidence would count against this claim?
4. The record states that the employees is "700 employees". What evidence would count against this claim?
5. The record states that the publication date is "2012". What evidence would count against this claim?
6. The record states that the release date is "2006". What evidence would count against this claim?
7. The record states that the release date is "2009". What evidence would count against this claim?
8. The record states that the release date is "2012". What evidence would count against this claim?
9. The record states that the release date is "2013-04-03". What evidence would count against this claim?
10. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
11. 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=1378894537