Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by takyon on Wednesday April 26 2017, @06:09PM   Printer-friendly
from the fake-news-anybody-can-edit dept.

Wikipedia's co-founder Jimmy Wales is planning a news service that combines the work of professional journalists and volunteers.

His goal is for Wikitribune to offer "factual and neutral" articles that help combat the problem of "fake news".

The service is intended to be both ad-free and free-to-read, so will rely on supporters making regular donations.

One expert said it had the potential to become a trusted site, but suggested its influence might be limited.

Wikitribune shares many of the features already found in Mr Wales's online encyclopaedia, including the need for writers to detail the source of each fact and a reliance on the public to edit articles to keep them accurate.

However, while anybody can make changes to a page, they will only go live if a staff member or trusted community volunteer approves them.

The other big difference is that the core team of writers will be paid, although there may also be instances in which a volunteer writes the initial draft and then a staff member edits it.

Wikipedia has built a trustworthy reputation. Can it be transferred to journalism?

takyon: A SoylentNews expert asked, "Whatever happened to Wikinews?"

[Ed. Note: updated at 19:20 with more information]

More coverage: (compiled by butthurt)
Fortune
Daily Mail
Nieman Foundation
The Atlantic
The Guardian
Silicon UK
Press Association 2017 via Clydebank Post
AFP via The Peninsula


Original Submission #1 Original Submission #2

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 2) by edIII on Wednesday April 26 2017, @07:52PM (3 children)

    by edIII (791) on Wednesday April 26 2017, @07:52PM (#500309)

    I...... that was one impressive rant bordering on old man rambling of the highest caliber. I'm glad that we have you to defend us from the tiny pee pees, VLM. God bless you. Although, you do seem to have some sort of weird fascination with it.....

    Reminds me of old gay men explaining to me the vast homospiracy in Hollywood and how John Wayne entertained young men in Catalina. You just to try to sit there and not break out laughing.

    Thank you for informing of me of the vast Wiki-delete conspiracy involving thousands of sad men with tiny penises.

    --
    Technically, lunchtime is at any moment. It's just a wave function.
    Starting Score:    1  point
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   2  
  • (Score: 4, Informative) by kaszz on Wednesday April 26 2017, @08:07PM (2 children)

    by kaszz (4211) on Wednesday April 26 2017, @08:07PM (#500317) Journal

    Wiki deletism is a problem however. It seems to usually come from people that think their perspective is the only one. Especially since they know gene splicing and theoretical physics by heart. No one needs to write any article about it because it's self evident....
    Oh and of course if an article isn't perfect within 30 minutes it must be deleted instantly. Because wikipedia is a one man job!

    But the penis conspiracy seems however self evident as unsubstantiated :P

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 27 2017, @05:28AM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 27 2017, @05:28AM (#500530)

      Yeah, gotta love those theoretical physics nazis. Let's write an encyclopedia article so that we can explain all this physics stuff we know, but ya know, hey, let's not actually explain anything in the process, and just assume the reader already gets it. Wonder how well that would have gone over with my middle school teachers...

      • (Score: 2) by kaszz on Friday April 28 2017, @02:00AM

        by kaszz (4211) on Friday April 28 2017, @02:00AM (#501003) Journal

        It's also possible to have articles that bridge the gap all the way with different prerequisites in knowledge. Sometimes you have to get to the dirty details.
        It's like being a surgeon that's afraid for knifes. It won't work.