Someone posted some links to http://www.conservapedia.com/ yesterday -
this article appear in the local paper today, I love the fact that he
thinks Wikipedia is anti-American because it uses British english.
http://www.theage.com.au/news/web/wikipedia-foes-set-up-right-site/2007/03/02/1172868789933.html
Wikipedia foes set up 'right site'
Bobbie Johnson
March 3, 2007
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IT has been attacked many times in its short life, most notably by a
former aide to the late Robert Kennedy and the editor of Encyclopaedia
Britannica. But now the online reference site Wikipedia has a new foe:
evangelical Christians.
A website founded by US religious activists aims to counter what they
claim is "liberal bias" on Wikipedia, the open encyclopedia that has
become one of the most popular sites on the web. The founders of
Conservapedia say their site offers a "much-needed alternative" to
Wikipedia, which they say is "increasingly anti-Christian and
anti-American".
Although entries on Wikipedia are open for anyone to edit, conservative
campaigners say they are unable to make changes because of inherent bias
by its global team of volunteer editors. Instead they have chosen to
build a clone that they hope will promote Christian values.
"I've tried editing Wikipedia, and found that the biased editors who
dominate it censor or change facts to suit their views," said Andy
Schlafly, the founder of Conservapedia. "In one case my factual edits
were removed within 60 seconds - so editing Wikipedia is no longer a
viable approach."
Among his criticisms listed on Conservapedia, Mr Schlafly explains how
many Wikipedia articles often use British spelling instead of American
English and says it "refuses" to give enough credit to Christianity for
the Renaissance. "Facts against the theory of evolution are almost
immediately censored," he says.
Mr Schlafly, a lawyer, is the son of a prominent American conservative,
Phyllis Schlafly, famed for her opposition to feminism and the Equal
Rights Amendment.
Conservapedia was created last November as a project for home-schooled
children, Mr Schlafly said, and he believes it could eventually become a
reference for teachers in the US. "It is rapidly becoming one of the
largest and most reliable online educational resources of its kind," he
said.
Wikipedia has come in for criticism for its open approach, notably from
Dale Hoiberg, the editor-in-chief of Encyclopaedia Britannica. He
disputed a survey in the journal Nature that found the website was just
as accurate as its venerable counterpart.
A Tennessee journalist, John Seigenthaler, attacked the site for falsely
suggesting he had been accused of involvement in the assassinations of
both John and Robert Kennedy in the 1960s.
The arrival of Conservapedia has been met with derision by much of the
internet community. But Jimmy Wales, the co-founder of Wikipedia, said
he was not upset by the right-wing site's claims: "Free culture knows no
bounds."
Guardian News & Media
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