In doing some Wikipedia research last week on Bill O’Reilly, I found this little snippet of vandalism right under the “Politics” sub-section after four, well-constructed paragraphs: “Bill O’Reilly is also a douche who should never express his right winged opinion ever again.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at the little activist fellow who snuck that one in. The change in cadence was hilarious. And while I love Wikipedia, I do admit it that it takes an intelligent reader to spot entry vandalism on controversial subjects. Hence, you have to be a pretty savvy individual to spot the good from the bad. Furthermore, reports indicate that the reading level for the site is on a 10th grader level, much higher than the 6-8th grader level of most national publications. But more often than not, however, Wikipedia works like a balanced and well-written charm. It’s the closest “no spin zone” I’ve found on the internet.
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