Wikilobbying is a form of vandalism by which a group compensates a third party for editing articles in Wikipedia with the purpose of establishing a positive bias for their particular group. This is typically done to avoid blatant conflicts of interest caused by companies giving their own products or services positively slanted Wikipedia definitions. Examples of this include Microsoft paying individuals to alter the entries for its standard OOXML to make it look more favorable, and to make rival standard ODF look less favorable.[1] Cases of wikilobbying have forced Wikipedia to block public relations firms, campaign workers, and anyone else perceived as having a conflict of interest from slanting entries.[2] The term reflects the ease with which wikipedia entries can be updated to reflect one's personal opinion rather than a neutral perspective.[3]
According to Stephen Colbert, the essence of wikilobbying is "when money determines wikipedia entries," and therefore, "reality has become a commodity."[4]
References
edit- ^ Jelliffe, Rick (2007-01-22). ""An interesting offer: get paid to contribute to Wikipedia"". Retrieved 2007-01-30.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Bergstein, Brian (2007-01-23). "Microsoft lands in hot water for offer to pay for Wikipedia edits". Associated Press. Retrieved 2007-01-30.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Ratcliffe, Mitch (2007-01-31). "Wikipedia@HarvardBusinessReview.com". Retrieved 2007-01-31.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Heller, Gregory (2007-01-30). "Wikilobbying:Stephen Colbert on Wikipedia". Retrieved 2007-01-31.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)
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