Week 15 ---Is Wikipedia News Really Global? YANJINJIN(염금금)

 1.Summary

Wikipedia's news section (Wikipedia:In the news) is indeed global. It displays important news events from all over the world on the homepage. But in reality, whether all major events in all countries will be recorded in this section is still worth thinking about.


For example, in 2022, former South Korean President Roh Tae-woo died, an important figure in South Korean history. We checked the "News Candidates" archive and found that although this event was nominated, it did not end up on the news section of the homepage. On the contrary, the death of politicians in European and American countries is usually more likely to be displayed. This shows that although the news section is open to the world, European and American news is more likely to enter the field of vision.

2.Interesting points

Wikipedia is maintained by users, and in theory everyone can edit and recommend news, but in reality, the main editors of English Wikipedia are still concentrated in the West. This results in news from certain regions appearing more often, while some important events like China, South Korea or Africa may be ignored.

3.Discussion

Is the global information platform really fair? Should we encourage editors from different countries to participate more in the construction of Wikipedia? Can the selection of news be more diverse and represent more voices?

Comments

  1. Shao tianyiJune 15, 2025 at 6:42 AM

    While Wikipedia’s “In the News” section aims to showcase important global events, there is a clear regional bias in practice. For example, the death of former South Korean President Roh Tae-woo in 2022 was nominated but never featured on the homepage, whereas similar events involving Western politicians tend to get more visibility. This reflects the fact that, despite being open to all, the main contributors to English Wikipedia are mostly from Western countries, which influences what news gets highlighted. To truly represent global perspectives fairly, Wikipedia should encourage more participation from editors around the world, ensuring a more diverse and balanced selection of news stories.

    ReplyDelete
  2. CHEN SIWENJune 15, 2025 at 7:38 AM

    Achieving true fairness on global information platforms requires more diverse contributors, broader representation of voices, and conscious inclusion of underrepresented content.

    ReplyDelete

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