Wikipedia is a free on-line encyclopedia that anyone can contribute to. YOU can write and improve articles on Wikipedia.
That means that a lot of people are taking subjects they know and care about, and teaching others more about them. Wikipedia claims to have millions of articles in hundreds of languages. You can find an article on practically anything – and if you can’t, YOU can start one!
But there’s a downside. If anyone can change the information on Wikipedia at any time, how do you know if it’s correct? Some people who contribute will get their facts wrong. Some write their own opinions as if they’re facts. And some will put fake information in just for fun.
If someone catches a mistake, they can fix it. But if they don’t know it’s a mistake, they might think it’s true. That’s why it can be dangerous to rely on Wikipedia for homework assignments.
Take a close look at the article. Does it list any sources at the end? Does it claim things that say “citation needed”? If there are no sources to build the article, then whoever wrote it might have made up some or all of it.
A good Wikipedia article will have links at the bottom to other sources. If you’re researching something for school, check these sources. Do they seem reliable? Do they link to an official web page of some kind? For example, are some of them government web pages with official information, or trusted newspapers?
Wikis can be good sources of information. Just use good judgment as you decide how much of it you use.
Have you used Wikipedia? What do you think about it? Let us know in the comments!
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