On 04/25/2017 05:59 PM, Jimmy Wales wrote:
Today I announced a new initiative, outside of my Wikimedia activities,
to combat fake news. It is important to me that I share directly with
all of you information about this new initiative early on.
First I should say (putting aside the name, marketing, and potential COI
issues for a moment):
I welcome more independent journalism and fact-checking. In a world of
media consolidation (that means the same people controlling more and
more of the media), more voices is a good thing.
The new project will use a wiki-style setup and experiment with
bringing together professional journalists and community contributors to
produce fact-checked, global news stories.
This (and particularly the name "Wikitribune") is one of my main concerns.
What defines a wiki is that you edit from the browser, and edits go live
immediately. (There are limited exceptions like FlaggedRevisions, but a
site with 100% FlaggedRevisions is not a wiki, especially if approvals
are not by the community).
The BBC says, "However, while anybody can make changes to a page, they
will only go live if a staff member or trusted community volunteer
approves them."
If this is correct, it is not a wiki, and "wiki-style" is very debatable.
Calling something a wiki when it is not will lead to major brand
confusion with Wikipedia, particularly given your involvement.
Please clarify the model of the site, so we can assess this further.
Matt Flaschen
(Speaking only for myself in personal capacity.)
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