User:Alorspetiteanne/sandbox

Wikiwashing refers to strategies of whitewashing one’s image by associating it to values advocated and represented by Wikipedia. In other words, wikiwashing is a twofold strategy developed by companies that provide infrastructure, sharing or collaboration services in order to 1) promote a positive image of their company by associating it with values of wikis and 2) to conceal practices that could be regarded as unethically by its users.

Origin

Dr. Mayo Fuster Morell has published a short article on wikiwashing, in which he relates this activity as the unethics of sharing. He analyses several case studies empirically with regard to the utilisation of wikiwashing strategies from Facebook, Yahoo! and Google.

Values

Wikipedia was founded in 2001 as an international encyclopaedia that is based on free access and the contribution of its users. Since then it stands for and promotes various values such as openness, transparency, sharing, neutrality and collaboration. Wikiwashing companies orient and associate themselves with these values.

• Transparency – All information should be provided by indicating the source. It should be visible where the information was retrieved.

• Openness – All information should be freely accessible to any internet user. Websites such as Wikipedia provide information for anyone with an Internet connection – free of charge.

• Sharing – All information should be supplied by users. They draft, compose and write informative articles on certain topics. Both experts and amateurs can contribute and submit information on fields they have certain knowledge on.

• Collaboration – All information is provided through users that cooperate in writing, reviewing and correcting articles under one another. The user’s collaboration is based on open-source software.

• Neutrality – All information should be supplied in an objective and neutral manner. The articles should give descriptive explanations of terms, concepts, persons, objects etc.

WikiWash

The platform WikiWash “is a free public tool that allows journalists, citizens and activists to uncover spin and bias on Wikipedia by tracking page edits in real time”. This tool aims to support Wikipedia in maintaining its values of neutrality and transparency. The WikiWash users operate on the same principle of Wikipedia users: cooperation and openness. This tools aids to detect alterations, deletions or additions in real time and edit false or unethical statements. The idea for WikiWash was born at the data and news conference TechRanking Toronto and the tool eventually founded by a group of journalists. Metro News Canada, The Working Group, and the Centre for Investigative Reporting collaborated to realise the project.