Jimmy Wales, the founder of online encyclopedia Wikipedia, has launched a website aimed at countering the spread of fake news by bringing together professional journalists and a community of volunteers and supporters to produce news articles.
People at CBS have been editing the Wikipedia pages of CBS television and radio networks and CBS employees, removing information related to controversies and adding more flattering details to its pages. A review by BuzzFeed News found that edits spanning several years were made with IP addresses associated with CBS Corp. in Washington and New York.
The FCC has been working with a third party to redo outgoing Chairman Julius Genachowski’s Wikipedia page, according to a senior official. Numerous entries were added that tout accomplishments such as his work with Mexico to prevent stolen cellphones from crossing the border. Other entries mentioned speeches in which the chairman asked cities to increase broadband Internet speeds. But the entries do not disclose that the FCC was working with a third party, contrary to Wikipedia’s practice. The world’s largest online encyclopedia restricts editorial entries that could be a conflict of interest.
The website will go dark for 24 hours in an unprecedented move that brings added muscle to a growing base of critics of anti-piracy legislation under consideration in Congress. Wikipedia is considered one of the Internet’s most popular websites, with millions of visitors daily.
