Week9--List of Hoaxes on Wikipedia--LIUJUNYU

                                      List of Hoaxes on Wikipedia

In today's information explosion, we are always accustomed to using Wikipedia as the first stop for "facts". However, in this "online encyclopedia" edited by volunteers from all over the world, there have been many carefully forged fraudulent articles. Some of them have been mistaken for the real thing for years, and some have even been cited in papers and news reports.

A collection of Wikipedia hoaxes that have been discovered in history. They usually have the following characteristics:

Although they are fake, many entries adopt a formal academic writing style and cite fictitious sources, making it difficult to detect at a glance.

Some articles, such as "Jar'Edo Wens", have existed for nearly a decade, and no one has questioned their authenticity during this period, and they have even been cited by other media.

Some authors fabricate just for "fun"; some are for satire, artistic experiments, or even to test loopholes in the Wikipedia system.

Some entries have been translated into multiple languages ​​and even appeared in university course materials, news reports or books, which have had a real impact.

After reading this list, my biggest feeling is that the power of Wikipedia lies in "everyone can participate", but this is also its biggest weakness.

We trust Wikipedia because it is transparent, editable, and open source. But this trust is also fragile. Once "well-disguised" false content appears, it is easy for users to fall into the trap of "looking credible".But this does not mean that Wikipedia is "unreliable". On the contrary, its "scam list" itself shows the self-reflection ability of the Wikipedia community - not covering up problems, but publicizing mistakes and educating users with cases. This is very rare on other platforms.More importantly, it reminds us: When facing information, blindly believing in any platform is dangerous. Whether it is Wikipedia, Zhihu, or news websites, we need to build "information literacy" - critical thinking and verification capabilities, rather than treating a certain platform as the "ultimate truth."

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