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German Government Agency to Fund Wikipedia Writers

Category: Digital Publishing , Digital Libraries
Ars Technica reports that in Germany, the concern over accurate information regarding renewable resources is so intense that the government agency overseeing those resources is funding writers to ensure that Wikipedia entries are up to snuff:

The FNR [Agency for Renewable Resources] generates plenty of this material already as part of its official mission, but Wikipedia has become an important new distribution channel for getting that information out to the general public. Web searchers looking for information on any particular topic are likely to stumble across a Wikipedia link, and the FNR would rather fill that space with accurate information than lock it all up in its own web site and publications.

The report goes on to say,

the issue of government funding to produce "accurate" information on a non-government site might raise a few eyebrows. Material on renewable resources is unlikely to be overly controversial, but one imagines the outcry that would result if other departments begin funding projects to produce "accurate information" on German political history, foreign policy, or terrorism.

However, these articles will be subject to the same treatment that all Wikipedia articles get - they are open for editing by other users. The government insists that it is not funding Wikipedia directly - it is only subsidizing the FNR writers who are contributing articles.

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Posted by Laura Dawson , June 28, 07, 9:41 AM , comments(0) , permalink , Email this post
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