Wikipedia criticized for many errors and outdated information

Wikipedia seems to be omnipresent on the internet. The online encyclopaedia, which was launched almost 25 years ago with the motto "Knowledge for all", is one of the most visited on the web and also provides fodder for Google and AI systems. It has long since replaced traditional printed encyclopaedias such as Brockhaus. However, with tens of millions of articles, the platform has been a controversial source for years. One of the reasons: The professional competence of the voluntary authors is not always guaranteed. A new study is now fueling reservations that the site should at least be treated with caution as a source of quick knowledge.

According to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung (FAS), it has examined 1000 randomly selected entries in the German-language Wikipedia for accuracy. According to the report, the team of reporters first checked the texts for anomalies using AI. Subsequently, internal archive documenters are said to have scrutinized the findings once again. The report goes on to say that only when two of the human reviewers were convinced that a piece of information was incorrect did the corresponding article end up on the list of defects.

The analysis revealed that more than every third page was problematic. At least 20 percent of the entries contained information that was "no longer up to date". Only half of these were immediately apparent to users. In addition, there are "almost as many pages with information that has never been correct". Wikipedia itself displays a notice on around 8,000 pages that a page is not up-to-date. However, the random sample suggests that this warning should be displayed on more than 600,000 articles. If there are that many more, an insertion is probably due that could contain incorrect information.

Wikipedia authors should be paid

In the article on the film "2001 – A Space Odyssey", Wikipedia named a false production company of the creator Stanley Kubrick, the FAS gives an example. It also claims that no other film production in North America made more money in 1968, the year of its release. However, the later cult film only became a box office hit a few years later. Indonesian is spoken by 160 million people, according to another article. This figure has long since exceeded 200 million. The portal also provided incorrect answers for entries on Sweden's highest mountain, the number of Levi's jeans brand stores and the EU Commission's responsibility for consumer protection.

The Wikimedia Foundation, which is behind the portal, denied this to the FAS: As Wikipedia is not a news site, "the volunteers compile the knowledge according to the criteria of an encyclopedia". Although topicality plays a role, relevance and compliance with the other Wikipedia rules are decisive. The platform has often been certified as being of equal or higher quality than commercial encyclopedias or textbooks. However, such studies have already been around for a few years.

Austrian organizational researcher Leonhard Dobusch confirms that the problem of outdated entries is indeed a major one. He has long been calling for the Wikimedia Foundation, which pays for the technical infrastructure and software developers for Wikipedia, to also employ and financially reward authors. The operators collect money from users in annual campaigns: Last year, local supporters alone donated around 18 million euros. The Wikimedia Foundation is a non-profit organization under US law that promotes free content.

(nen)