Essjay controversy: Difference between revisions
moving ...for Dummies/Catholicism references down--formating only, not reducing sources. Just taking it from the lead per apparent concensus. works better after the 'canon law' passage to contrast |
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The '''Essjay controversy''' arose in [[February 2007]] after ''[[The New Yorker]]'' magazine noted that prominent [[English Wikipedia]] editor and administrator '''Essjay''', later self-identified as '''Ryan Jordan''', was found to have made false claims on his Wikipedia user page<ref>[http://blogs.zdnet.com/Ratcliffe/?p=271 Wikipedia: Why does Essjay need to “protect himself”?]</ref> and in a phone interview<ref>[http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=37939 Wikipedia 'expert' lied about qualifications]</ref><ref>[http://informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=197801320 Wikipedia Mulls Proof Of Credentials: Meanwhile, detractors of the plan say edits should stand on their own merits.]</ref><ref>[http://www.itwire.com.au/content/view/10092/53/ Wikipedia: did one of its admins lie?]</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2006/07/31/060731fa_fact?currentPage=6|title=Editor's Note|publisher=[[The New Yorker]]|accessdate=2007-03-14}}</ref> concerning his age, job, activities, background, and academic [[credentials]].<ref>Noam Cohen |
The '''Essjay controversy''' arose in [[February 2007]] after ''[[The New Yorker]]'' magazine noted that prominent [[English Wikipedia]] editor and administrator '''Essjay''', later self-identified as '''Ryan Jordan''', was found to have made false claims on his Wikipedia user page<ref>[http://blogs.zdnet.com/Ratcliffe/?p=271 Wikipedia: Why does Essjay need to “protect himself”?]</ref> and lied in a phone interview<ref>[http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=37939 Wikipedia 'expert' lied about qualifications]</ref><ref>[http://informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=197801320 Wikipedia Mulls Proof Of Credentials: Meanwhile, detractors of the plan say edits should stand on their own merits.]</ref><ref>[http://www.itwire.com.au/content/view/10092/53/ Wikipedia: did one of its admins lie?]</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2006/07/31/060731fa_fact?currentPage=6|title=Editor's Note|publisher=[[The New Yorker]]|accessdate=2007-03-14}}</ref> concerning his age, job, activities, background, and academic [[credentials]].<ref>Noam Cohen |
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Published: March 12, 2007 |
Published: March 12, 2007 |
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, After false claims, Wikipedia to check degrees, [http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/03/12/business/wiki.php International Herald Tribune]</ref><ref name="Guardian">{{cite web |
, After false claims, Wikipedia to check degrees, [http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/03/12/business/wiki.php International Herald Tribune]</ref><ref name="Guardian">{{cite web |
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==Identity revealed== |
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When Ryan Jordan was hired by Wikia in January 2007, he reportedly made changes to his Wikia profile and "came clean on who he really was".<ref name="MartynWilliams" /> According to the [[Vancouver]] daily paper [[24 Hours]], [[World Wide Web]] activist and Wikipedia critic [[Daniel Brandt]] then reported the Essjay/Ryan Jordan identity discrepancy to ''The New Yorker''.<ref name="vancouver24">{{cite web |
When Ryan Jordan was hired by Wikia in January 2007, he reportedly made changes to his Wikia profile and "came clean on who he really was".<ref name="MartynWilliams" /> According to the [[Vancouver]] daily paper [[24 Hours]], [[World Wide Web]] activist and Wikipedia critic [[Daniel Brandt]] then reported the Essjay/Ryan Jordan identity discrepancy to ''The New Yorker''.<ref name="vancouver24">{{cite web |
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==Gallery== |
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Image:User-Essjay-History1.png|Screenshot of Google's cache of Essjay's Wikipedia user page, [[March 1]] [[2007]] |
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Image:Essjaywikiascreenshot.jpg|Screenshot of Essjay's Wikia staff user page, circa [[March 1]] [[2007]] |
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Image:Essjay.jpg|Image posted by Essjay as himself |
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[[Category:History of Wikipedia]] |
[[Category:History of Wikipedia]] |
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Revision as of 18:05, 16 March 2007
Timeline
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The Essjay controversy arose in February 2007 after The New Yorker magazine noted that prominent English Wikipedia editor and administrator Essjay, later self-identified as Ryan Jordan, was found to have made false claims on his Wikipedia user page[1] and lied in a phone interview[2][3][4][5] concerning his age, job, activities, background, and academic credentials.[6][7] Although Essjay, who was also briefly employed at Wikia, had claimed to hold doctoral degrees in theology and canon law as a tenured professor at a private university,[8] he was in fact a community college dropout from the U.S. state of Kentucky.
Reaction to the disclosure was broad-based, encompassing commentary and articles in the electronic, print, and broadcast media. The Wikipedia community researched Essjay's article edits on the site to verify accuracy, and created and debated various proposals to improve the project's handling of identification and credentials.
Jimmy Wales, a Wikipedia founder[9] and president of Wikia,[10] initially showed support for Essjay's use of false credentials in creating a persona by stating, "I regard it as a pseudonym and I don’t really have a problem with it."[11] However, upon realizing that Essjay had relied upon them in the context of discussing article content, Wales asked for Essjay's resignation from both his volunteer roles on Wikipedia and his paid job as Community Manager at Wikia.[12] In March 2007, Essjay announced his retirement from Wikipedia.[13]
The New Yorker interview
Stacy Schiff, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist writing for The New Yorker, interviewed Essjay as a source for an article about Wikipedia ("Know It All" July 31, 2006) after he was recommended to her by a member of the Wikimedia Foundation . According to The New Yorker, Essjay "was willing to describe his work as a Wikipedia administrator but would not identify himself other than by confirming the biographical details that appeared on his user page."[11] Describing his academic credentials as including two doctorates, the article said that Essjay was spending fourteen hours or more a day on Wikipedia but was careful to keep his online life a secret from his colleagues and friends. Essjay was portrayed as often taking his laptop to class, so he could be available to other Wikipedians while giving a quiz.[11] Essjay later commented on his Wikipedia user page about having fooled Schiff by "doing a good job playing the part."[7]
Identity revealed
When Ryan Jordan was hired by Wikia in January 2007, he reportedly made changes to his Wikia profile and "came clean on who he really was".[14] According to the Vancouver daily paper 24 Hours, World Wide Web activist and Wikipedia critic Daniel Brandt then reported the Essjay/Ryan Jordan identity discrepancy to The New Yorker.[15] In late February 2007 The New Yorker updated its article with a correction indicating that "Essjay" had subsequently identified himself as Ryan Jordan[8] and further stated, "he was described in the piece as 'a tenured professor of religion at a private university' with 'a Ph.D. in theology and a degree in canon law.' In fact, he had relied on sources such as Catholicism for Dummies[16] when editing articles.[13][17][18] The discrepancy in credentials was brought to public attention in late February 2007 when The New Yorker attached an editorial note to a July 2006 article about Wikipedia, for which Essjay had been interviewed.[11] Essjay now says that his real name is Ryan Jordan, that he is twenty-four and holds no advanced degrees, and that he has never taught."[11] According to Essjay these credentials were part of an online persona he had created, in part, to avoid cyberstalking.[19]
The Courier-Journal of Louisville, Kentucky reported that Jordan had attended but never graduated from Centre College and Bluegrass Community and Technical College (formerly known as Lexington Community College). The paper also stated that despite his claim to have had a three-month special position with a United States bankruptcy trustee, the office had no record that Jordan ever worked there.[8]
Reaction
Wikipedia community
Speaking personally about Jordan, Wales said, “Mr. Ryan [sic] was a friend, and still is a friend. He is a young man, and he has offered me a heartfelt personal apology, which I have accepted. I hope the world will let him go in peace to build an honorable life and reputation.”[20]
Essjay had promptly responded to the controversy with a statement on his Wikipedia user talk page, in part reading:
…I *am* sorry if anyone in the Wikipedia community has been hurt by my decision to use disinformation to protect myself. I'm not sorry that I protected myself; I believed, and continue to believe, that I was right to protect myself, in light of the problems encountered on the internet in these trying times. I have spoken to all of my close friends here about this, and have heard resoundingly that they understand my position, and they support me. Jimbo and many others in Wikipedia's hierarchy have made thier [sic] support known as well…[21]
Reaction from within the Wikipedia community was sharp, voluminous, and mixed. While most editors denounced at least some aspects of his behavior, responses ranged from offering complete support to accusing Jordan of "plain and simple fraud."[22]
As the controversy unfolded the Wikipedia community began a review of Essjay's previous edits and discovered evidence he had relied upon his fictional professorship to influence editorial consideration of edits he made. "People have gone through his edits and found places where he was basically cashing in on his fake credentials to bolster his arguments," said Michael Snow, a Wikipedia administrator and founder of the Wikipedia community newspaper, The Wikipedia Signpost. "Those will get looked at again."[22]
Wales was "...reported to be considering vetting all persons who adjudicate on factual disputes."[23] "I don't think this incident exposes any inherent weakness in Wikipedia, but it does expose a weakness that we will be working to address," Wales added.[24] He reportedly insisted that Wikipedia editors still would be able to remain anonymous if they wished. "We always prefer to give a positive incentive rather than absolute prohibition, so that people can contribute without a lot of hassle", Wales commented. However, he also warned that “It's always inappropriate to try to win an argument by flashing your credentials, and even more so if those credentials are inaccurate.”[25] Wales reportedly "...expects contributors to the site who claim certain credentials will soon have to prove they really have them."[14] However Florence Devouard, chair of the Wikimedia Foundation (which is no longer headed by Wales), was not supportive of his credential proposal, saying, "I think what matters is the quality of the content, which we can improve by enforcing policies such as ‘cite your source,’ not the quality of credentials showed by an editor." Vigorous debate over how to improve Wikipedia continues.[26]
As a followup to his initial comments to The New Yorker, Wales wrote this apology to the magazine, which appeared in its March 19, 2007 issue:
I am writing to apologize to The New Yorker and Stacy Schiff, and to give some follow-up concerning Ryan Jordan (Editors' Note, March 5th). When I last spoke to The New Yorker about the fact that a prominent Wikipedia community member had lied about his credentials, I misjudged the issue. It was not O.K. for Mr. Jordan, or Essjay, to lie to a reporter, even to protect his identity.[27]
Wales expressed his regret that Essjay had "made a series of very bad judgements". He also commented that he hoped Wikipedia would improve as a result of the controversy.
Wikipedia critics
Larry Sanger, Editor-in-Chief of Citizendium and a founder[9] of Wikipedia, was reported to have called Essjay's response "a defiant non-apology"[28] and elsewhere characterized Essjay's actions as "identity fraud."[29] Longtime Wikipedia critic Andrew Orlowski harshly criticized Jimmy Wales for hiring Essjay at Wikia and appointing him to the Wikipedia arbitration committee after Essjay had apparently admitted his previously claimed academic and professional credentials were false.[29] Orlowski wrote in The Register that Essjay's actions betrayed a dangerous community mindset within Wikipedia, quoting Sanger as saying, "Wikipedians have plainly become a very insular group: they have their own mores and requirements, which are completely independent of the real world. Indeed, that's what this story is about, after all: real-world identities and credentials are rejected as unnecessary by Wikipedia."[29] Dan Blacharski of ITworld wrote, "Legitimate writers, scholars and industry experts have very little motivation to contribute to Wikipedia – leaving the project with wannabes and posers like Essjay with too much time on their hands to churn out content."[30] Internet activist Seth Finkelstein said that Wikipedia "fundamentally runs by an extremely deceptive sort of social promise," of which he claims Essjay is a product.[31] In another comment Finkelstein asserted, "Wikipedia is selling heavy contributors a dream that their donated effort will give them the prestige of an academic...But all that'll happen is they will work for free, while elsewhere the Wikia investors will reap the rewards." He saw Essjay, "that dream's poster child," as having been encouraged by Wikipedia to play out a detailed fantasy role along with "a cadre of acolytes willing to devote their lives (without payment) to the organisation's projects."[7]
Academics
On March 2, 2007, a report in The Chronicle of Higher Education commented "the incident is clearly damaging to Wikipedia's credibility – especially with professors who will now note that one of the site's most visible academics has turned out to be a fraud."[32]
However, lecturer Nicola Pratt of the University of East Anglia stated, "The ethos of Wikipedia is that anyone can contribute, regardless of status . . . What's relevant is their knowledge as judged by other readers, not whether they are professors or not – and the fact the student was exposed shows it works."[33]
See also
- Criticism of Wikipedia: describes external criticism of Wikipedia, its concepts and contributors.
- Reliability of Wikipedia: discusses the reliability of information in Wikipedia, including comparisons of accuracy with other resources.
- Wikipedia community: describes a group of people who edit and volunteer their time, building the world's largest free encyclopedia.
References
- ^ Wikipedia: Why does Essjay need to “protect himself”?
- ^ Wikipedia 'expert' lied about qualifications
- ^ Wikipedia Mulls Proof Of Credentials: Meanwhile, detractors of the plan say edits should stand on their own merits.
- ^ Wikipedia: did one of its admins lie?
- ^ "Editor's Note". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2007-03-14.
- ^ Noam Cohen Published: March 12, 2007 , After false claims, Wikipedia to check degrees, International Herald Tribune
- ^ a b c Finkelstein, Seth (March 7 2007). "Read me first". Local News. The Guardian. Retrieved 2007-03-07.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) Cite error: The named reference "Guardian" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page). - ^ a b c Wolfson, Andrew (March 6 2007). "Wikipedia editor who posed as professor is Ky. dropout". Local News. The Courier-Journal. Retrieved 2007-03-06.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b Mehegan, David (February 12, 2006). "Bias, sabotage haunt Wikipedia's free world". Business. The Boston Globe. p. 4. Retrieved 2007-03-13.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ McNichol, Tom (February 27 2007). "Wikipedia founder hunts for gold". CNN. Retrieved 2007-03-13.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b c d e Schiff, Stacy (July 24 2006). "Can Wikipedia conquer expertise?". Know It All. The New Yorker. Retrieved 2007-03-06.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Ratcliffe, Mitch (March 5, 2007), Wikipedia: Why does Essjay need to “protect himself”?, Zdnet.com. Retrieved March 7, 2007
- ^ a b Goldman, Russell (March 6 2007). "Wikiscandal: A Prominent Editor at the Popular Online Encyclopedia Is a Fraud". ABC News. Retrieved 2007-03-06.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b Williams, Martyn (2007-03-09). "Wikipedia Founder Addresses User Credentials". PC World. Retrieved 2007-03-09.
- ^ King, Ian (March 2 2007). "A Wiki web they've woven". King’s Corner. 24 Hours. Retrieved 2007-03-06.
Veteran Wikipeida [sic] critic Daniel Brandt of wikipedia-watch.org first dug up details of Jordan's bamboozling of both Wikipedians and the New Yorker, leading to the magazine running a correction this week, admitting it had been had.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Trigilio, John (2003-04-28). Catholicism for Dummies. Indianapolis, IN: Wiley Publishing. ISBN 0-7645-5391-7.
{{cite book}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ Elsworth, Catherine (March 8, 2007). "Wikipedia 'expert' admits: I made it up". The Age. Retrieved 2007-03-16.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Fake professor in Wikipedia storm". BBC News. March 6, 2007. Retrieved 2007-03-16.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Zaharov-Reutt, Alex (March 2 2007). "Wikipedia: did one of its admins lie?". iTWire. Retrieved 2007-03-06.
Essjay's entire Wikipedia life was conducted with only a user name; anonymity is common for Wikipedia administrators and contributors, and he says that he feared personal retribution from those he had ruled against online.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Doran, James (March 8 2007). "Wikipedia Editor Out After False Credentials Revealed". Fox News > Technology. Fox News. Retrieved 2007-03-09.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Keen, Andrew (March 7, 2007). "Laughter and forgetting on Wikipedia". ZDNet. Retrieved 2007-03-13.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b Cohen, Noam (March 5 2007). "A Contributor to Wikipedia Has His Fictional Side". Technology. The New York Times. Retrieved 2007-03-06.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Staff (March 7 2007). "Wikipedia's 'bogus' editor ousted". Freelance UK.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Doran, James (March 8 2007). "Wikipedia chief promises change after 'expert' exposed as fraud". Times Online UK.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Bergstein, Brian (March 7 2007). "Wikipedia to seek proof of credentials". Associated Press.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Cohen, Noam (March 12 2007). "After False Claim, Wikipedia to Check Degrees". Technology. The New York Times. Retrieved 2007-03-12.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Wales, Jimmy (2007-03-19), "Making amends", The New Yorker, p. 24
{{citation}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)CS1 maint: date and year (link). - ^ Andrew Orlowski (2007-6-3). "Farewell, Wikipedia?". The Register (U.K.). Retrieved 2007-03-12.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|year=(help)CS1 maint: year (link) - ^ a b c Andrew Orlowski (2007-6-3). "Bogus Wikipedia Prof. was blessed then promoted". The Register (U.K.). Retrieved 2007-03-02.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|year=(help)CS1 maint: year (link) - ^ Dan Blacharski (2007-3-6). "Blog Insights: Wikipedia's great fraud". ITworld. Retrieved 2007-03-12.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|year=(help)CS1 maint: year (link) - ^ Seth Finkelstein (2007-03-01). "What The New Yorker Article Fraud Tells Us About Wikipedia". Seth Finkelstein. Retrieved 2007-03-12.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: year (link) - ^ Read, Brock (March 2 2007). "Essjay, the Ersatz Academic". The Chronicle of Higher Education.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ MacLeod, Donald (March 7 2007). "Students marked on writing in Wikipedia". The Guardian. Retrieved 2007-03-13.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Text "E-Learning" ignored (help); Text "EducationGuardian.co.uk" ignored (help)
Gallery
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Image posted by Essjay as himself
