Who Really Edits Wikipedia Articles?

27 Nov 2010

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Wikipedia is the 7th most visited website in the world. The user-edited online encyclopaedia is not without controversy. Many academic institutions question the integrity of the information on the website. But that hasn’t stopped 78 million people around the world from visiting it on a monthly basis and using it as an information source.

So, who really edits Wikipedia articles? 

Danese Cooper from Wikimedia describes the demographic that contributes to Wikipedia articles as mainly white males in their early twenties.

Editor’s Note: Given the systemic bias in the nature of the information on Wikipedia, you may also be interested in watching Jimmy Wales, Wikipedia founder, exploring an idea for encouraging people from the developing world, notably Africa, to contribute to Wikipedia. How do we get a Wikipedia in isiZulu, he asks.

You can find this page online at http://sacsis.org.za/site/article/313.19.

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