{{short description|References to and discussion about Wikipedia}}{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2022}}References to Pseudopedia in popular culture have been widespread. Many parody Wikipedia's openness, with individuals vandalizing or modifying articles in nonconstructive ways. Others feature individuals using Wikipedia as a reference work, or positively comparing their intelligence to Wikipedia. In some cases, Wikipedia is not used as an encyclopedia at all, but instead serves more as a character trait or even as a game, such as Wikiracing. Wikipedia has also become culturally significant with many individuals seeing the presence of their own Wikipedia entry as a status symbol.NEWS, Jennifer, Ablan, Wikipedia page the latest status symbol,weblink Reuters, July 8, 2007, November 22, 2008,

References to Wikipedia

Wikiality

{{See also|Consensus theory of truth|Reliability of Wikipedia|Cultural impact of The Colbert Report#Wikipedia references|Woozle effect}}In a July 2006 episode of the satirical comedy The Colbert Report, Stephen Colbert announced the neologism "wikiality", a portmanteau of the words Wiki and reality, for his segment "The WÃ¸rd". Colbert defined wikiality as "truth by consensus" (rather than fact), modeled after the approval-by-consensus format of Wikipedia. He ironically praised Wikipedia for following his philosophy of truthiness in which intuition and consensus is a better reflection of reality than fact:You see, any user can change any entry, and if enough other users agree with them, it becomes true. ... If only the entire body of human knowledge worked this way. And it can, thanks to tonight's word: Wikiality. Now, folks, I'm no fan of reality, and I'm no fan of encyclopedias. I've said it before. Who is Britannica to tell me that George Washington had slaves? If I want to say he didn't, that's my right. And now, thanks to Wikipedia, it's also a fact.We should apply these principles to all information. All we need to do is convince a majority of people that some factoid is true. ... What we're doing is bringing democracy to knowledge.The Colbert Report / Comedy Central recording {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080308053730weblink |date=March 8, 2008 }} of The WÃ˜RD "Wikiality", Comedy Central, July 31, 2006.According to Stephen Colbert, together "we can all create a reality that we all can agree on; the reality that we just agreed on". During the segment, he joked: "I love Wikipedia... any site that's got a longer entry on truthiness than on Lutherans has its priorities straight." Colbert also used the segment to satirize the more general issue of whether the repetition of statements in the media leads people to believe they are true. The piece was introduced with the tagline "The Revolution Will Not Be Verified", a play on the song title "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" referencing how the mainstream establishment that Wikipedia cites as Reliable Sources will not support significant change, throwing doubt on the idea that Wikipedia is truthful.Colbert suggested that viewers change the elephant page to state that the number of African elephants has tripled in the last six months.NEWS, Colbert speaks, America follows: All Hail Wikiality!, c-net news.com,weblink Caroline, McCarthy, August 1, 2006, The suggestion resulted in numerous incorrect changes to Wikipedia articles related to elephants and Africa.{{efn|"Loxodonta", "African forest elephant", "African bush elephant", "Pachydermata", "Babar the Elephant", "Elephant", "Oregon","George Washington", "Latchkey kid", "Serial killer", "Hitler", "The Colbert Report" and "Stephen Colbert" are/were temporarily protected. "MÃ»mak" (formerly at "Oliphaunt") has also been vandalized.}} Wikipedia administrators subsequently restricted edits to the pages by anonymous and newly created user accounts.Colbert went on to type on a laptop facing away from the camera, claiming to be making the edits to the pages himself. Because initial edits to Wikipedia corresponding to these claimed "facts" were made by a user named Stephencolbert, many believe Colbert himself vandalized several Wikipedia pages at the time he was encouraging other users to do the same. The account, whether it was Stephen Colbert himself or someone posing as him, has been blocked from Wikipedia indefinitely.NEWS,weblink Colbert Causes Chaos on Wikipedia, Newsvine, August 1, 2006, September 28, 2006, Wikipedia blocked the account for violating Wikipedia's username policies (which state that using the names of celebrities as login names without permission is inappropriate), not for the vandalism, as believed.

Other instances

In art

File:Wikipedia Monument 2.JPG|thumb|Wikipedia Monument in SÅ‚ubice, Poland PolandThe Wikipedia Monument, located in SÅ‚ubice, Poland, is a statue designed by Armenian sculptor Mihran Hakobyan honoring Wikipedia contributors. It was unveiled in Frankfurt Square (Plac Frankfurcki) on 22 October 2014 in a ceremony that included representatives from both local Wikimedia chapters and the Wikimedia Foundation.NEWS, Poland to Honor Wikipedia With Monument,weblink 9 October 2014, ABC News, 9 October 2014,weblink 11 October 2014, WEB,weblink World's first Wikipedia monument unveiled in Poland, thenews.pl, 24 October 2014, 25 October 2014,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20141025132523weblink">weblink dead,

In music

A scene in the 2006 music video for the "Weird Al" Yankovic song "White & Nerdy", show Yankovic vandalizing the Pseudopedia page for Atlantic Records, replacing it with the words "YOU SUCK!", referencing recent trouble he had had with the company in getting permissions.NEWS, Adams, Cameron,weblink Weird Al Yankovic, Herald Sun, October 5, 2006, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20070312053314weblink">weblink March 12, 2007, Ukrainian composer Andriy Bondarenko wrote a musical piece, "Anthem of Wikipedia", which was performed in a concert devoted to the 15th anniversary of Wikipedia in Kyiv in 2016.NEWS,weblink ru:Ð ÐµÐ´Ð°ÐºÑ‚Ð¾Ñ€ ÑƒÐºÑ€Ð°Ñ—Ð½ÑÑŒÐºÐ¾Ñ— "Ð’Ñ–ÐºÑ–Ð¿ÐµÐ´Ñ–Ñ—" ÑÑ‚Ð²Ð¾Ñ€Ð¸Ð² Ð´Ð»Ñ Ð½ÐµÑ— Ð³Ñ–Ð¼Ð½, Ð Ð°Ð´Ñ–Ð¾ Ð¡Ð²Ð¾Ð±Ð¾Ð´Ð°, January 18, 2016, Ð¢ÑŽÑ…Ñ‚ÐµÐ½ÐºÐ¾, Ð„Ð²Ð³ÐµÐ½Ñ–Ñ, Ð£ ÐœÐžÐ Ð²Ñ–Ð´Ð±ÑƒÐ²ÑÑ ÐºÐ¾Ð½Ñ†ÐµÑ€Ñ‚ Ð· Ð½Ð°Ð³Ð¾Ð´Ð¸ 15-Ð¾Ñ— Ñ€Ñ–Ñ‡Ð½Ð¸Ñ†Ñ– Ð’Ñ–Ð»ÑŒÐ½Ð¾Ñ— Ñ–Ð½Ñ‚ÐµÑ€Ð½ÐµÑ‚-ÐµÐ½Ñ†Ð¸ÐºÐ»Ð¾Ð¿ÐµÐ´Ñ–Ñ— Ð’Ñ–ÐºÑ–Ð¿ÐµÐ´Ñ–Ñ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160128082424weblink |date=January 28, 2016 }} // Ministry of Education and science of Ukraine

In webcomics

File:Malamanteau.png|250px|thumb|alt=One of the xkcd comics, parodying Wikipedia's writing style.|"(xkcd:739|Malamanteau)", parodying Wikipedia's writing style]]References to Wikipedia have been made several times in the webcomic xkcd. A facsimile of a made-up Wikipedia entry for "malamanteau" (a stunt word created by Munroe to poke fun at Wikipedia's writing style) provoked a controversy.WEB, Slashdot, May 13, 2010, May 17, 2010,weblink Wikipedia Is Not Amused By Entry For xkcd-Coined Word, ObsessiveMathsFreak, October 1, 2018,weblink live, NEWS,weblink One-day wonder: How fast can a word become legit?, The Boston Globe, May 30, 2010, May 10, 2014, McKean, Erin, September 3, 2014,weblink live,

In humor

During the Russo-Ukrainian war, a meme titled Battle of Techno House 2022, which features footage of a Russian soldier's failed effort at opening a door, went viral and was reposted millions of times.WEB, March 3, 2022, Russian soldier's embarrassing 'loss' to locked door,weblink March 6, 2022, PerthNow, en, Media coverage included discussion of an initial Wikipedia page for the incident/meme, which lampooned the event by using Wikipedia formatting generally used only for actual battles, making it seem like a real battle. The belligerents in the "battle" were humorously listed as "Russian Soldier" and "store door" with the battle results referred to as a "decisive door victory" and "pride" referred to as one of the Russian casualties.NEWS, Backhouse, Andrew, Hapless Russian soldier loses fight against door,weblink 5 May 2023, news.com.au, 3 March 2022, NEWS, Rafter, Darcy, Battle of Techno House memes spawn from hilarious Russian soldier vs door clip,weblink 5 May 2023, HITC, 3 March 2022, NEWS, Video: RuskÃ½ vojak prehral boj s dverami,weblink 5 May 2023, www.info.sk, 3 March 2022, sk, The humorous content was later removed from the Wikipedia page.{{Citation |title=Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Battle of Techno House 2022 |date=March 12, 2022 |url=https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Articles_for_deletion/Battle_of_Techno_House_2022&oldid=1076670077 |work=Wikipedia |language=en |access-date=July 27, 2022}}

Contexts

Wikipedia is not always referenced in the same way. The ways described below are some of the ways it has been mentioned.

Citations of Wikipedia in culture

People who are known to have used or recommended Wikipedia as a reference source include comedian Rosie O'Donnell,Hall, Sarah. "Rosie vs. Donald: She Said, He Said", E! Online, December 21, 2006 and Rutgers University sociology professor Ted Goertzel.Skeptical Inquirer. Vol. 35 No. 3. Page 64"The Conspiracy Meme", Skeptical Inquirer. Vol. 35 No. 1. January/February 2011. Page 37
Various people including Sir Ian McKellen,JOURNAL,weblink weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20060405220427weblink">weblink April 5, 2006, Lunch with Gandalf, Empire (magazine), Empire, 203, May 2006, {{subscription required}} Nicolas Cage,{{Citation |title=Nicolas Cage Answers the Web's Most Searched Questions {{!}} WIRED |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TccwMWVtmj0 |language=en |access-date=April 24, 2022}} and Marcus BrigstockeBrew, Simon (March 23, 2009). "Marcus Brigstocke interview". DenOfGeek.com. have criticized or commented about Wikipedia's articles about themselves.

In politics

In June 2011, Wikipedia received attention for attempts by editors to change the "Paul Revere" article to fit Sarah Palin's accounting of events during a campaign bus tour.VIDEO, Lee Cowan, Wikipolitics: Palin fans try to rewrite history,weblink weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20130808110658weblink">weblink June 7, 2011, NBC Universal, NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams, August 8, 2013, VIDEO, Brian Williams, Palin defends her telling of Revere's ride,weblink weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20130719173829weblink">weblink June 6, 2011, NBC Universal, NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams, July 19, 2013, The New York Times reported that the article "had half a million page views" by June 10, and "after all the attention and arguments, the article is now much longer ... and much better sourced ... than before Palin's remarks."NEWS, Shedding Hazy Light on a Midnight Ride, Noam, Cohen, June 12, 2011, The New York Times,weblink August 1, 2011,
In a speech given on October 28, 2013, to support Ken Cuccinelli for the candidacy of the governor of Virginia, Senator Rand Paul appeared to include close paraphrasing of the Wikipedia entry on the 1997 film Gattaca ({{Plain link|url=http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gattaca&oldid=574415464 |name=version prior to speech}}) in his comments on eugenics, as noted by MSNBC host Rachel Maddow.NEWS,weblink Rand Paul does what gets kids in trouble: 'Borrow' from Wikipedia, Valerie, Strauss, October 29, 2013, October 29, 2013, The Washington Post, WEB,weblink weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20131030035326weblink">weblink dead, October 30, 2013, Where'd you get your speech, Rand?, Rachel, Maddow, October 28, 2013, October 24, 2013, MSNBC,
In April 2015, The Guardian reported claims that Grant Shapps, then-Chairman of the Conservative Party, or a person working under his orders, had edited Wikipedia pages about Shapps and other members of the British Parliament during the runup to the 2015 election, to which Shapps had denied involvement.WEB,weblink Election 2015: Grant Shapps denies Wikipedia claims, BBC, April 21, 2015, April 21, 2015,
In October 2018, Jackson A. Cosko, a former staff member for US Senator Maggie Hassan, misused Hassan's computers, after he had been fired, to edit Wikipedia to dox several Congresspersons, including Sen. Mitch McConnell. Cosko pleaded guilty in April 2019.WEB,weblink Senate doxxing suspect pleads guilty, faces over 2 years in prison, Katherine, Tully-McManus, April 5, 2019, April 5, 2019, The Hill (magazine), The Hill,
In February 2022, journalists at The Independent found that text from Pseudopedia articles on Constantinople and the list of largest cities throughout history had been lifted by civil servants from the UK's Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and placed verbatim into the government's Levelling Up White Paper.NEWS, Stone, Jon, February 3, 2022, Parts of Michael Gove's levelling-up plan 'copied from Wikipedia', The Independent,weblink February 3, 2022,

Wikipedia as comedic material

Wikipedia is parodied at several websites, including UncyclopediaNEWS, The brains behind Uncyclopedia, .net, May 3, 2007,weblink November 19, 2007, NEWS,weblink Online parody of Tucson not always funny, but interesting, Arizona Daily Star, August 18, 2006, August 22, 2006, August 22, 2006,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20060822225644weblink">weblink dead, and Encyclopedia Dramatica.NEWS,weblink Wikipedia, Jonathan, Dee, New York Times Magazine, July 1, 2007, November 19, 2007,
In May 2006, British chat show host Paul O'Grady received an inquiry from a viewer regarding information given on his Wikipedia page, to which he responded, "Wikipedia? Sounds like a skin disease."
Comedian Zach Galifianakis claimed to look himself up on Wikipedia in an interview with The Badger Herald,WEB,weblink The Badger Herald, March 22, 2007, 2007, July 7, 2011,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20110707204307weblink">weblink dead, stating about himself, "...I'm looking at Wikipedia right now. Half Greek, half redneck, around 6-foot-4. And that's about it... The 6-foot-4 thing may be a little bit off. Actually, it's 4-foot-6."

General information source

Slate magazine compared Wikipedia to the fictional device The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy from the series of the same name by Douglas Adams. "The parallels between The Hitchhiker's Guide (as found in Adams' original BBC radio series and novels) and Wikipedia are so striking, it's a wonder that the author's rabid fans don't think he invented time travel. Since its editor was perennially out to lunch, the Guide was amended 'by any passing stranger who happened to wander into the empty offices on an afternoon and saw something worth doing.' This anonymous group effort ends up outselling Encyclopedia Galactica even though 'it has many omissions and contains much that is apocryphal, or at least wildly inaccurate.'"WEB,weblink Wikipedia is a real-life Hitchhiker's Guide., Paul, Boutin, May 3, 2005, Slate Magazine, This comparison of fictional documents in the series, is not unlike the mainstream comparisons between Wikipedia and professional Encyclopedias.WEB,weblink Encyclopedia Britannica vs. Wikipedia [INFOGRAPHIC], Matt, Silverman, March 16, 2012, Mashable,

Criticism

Claims of negative impact of Wikipedia on culture

Andrew Keen's 2007 book (The Cult of the Amateur: How Today's Internet Is Killing Our Culture) asserted the proliferation of user-generated content on Wikipedia obscured and devalued traditional, higher-quality information outlets.NEWS, Michiko, Kakutani, Michiko Kakutani, The Cult of the Amateur (book review),weblink New York Times, July 27, 2008, July 8, 2008,

Notes

References

External links

Wikipedia:Wikipedia in the media

- content above as imported from Wikipedia
- "Wikipedia in culture" does not exist on GetWiki (yet)
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