“The introductory Wikipedia search” – freedom and access to information, how free is it? The historical issues raised and revisited through the lens of Wikipedia, and potential as a human resource.
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Information and access to it are not new concepts in history, and there is wealth of literature on the importance of it to life and development. From early hunter-gatherers to the Industrial Revolution information has played a key role in success and human life. In contemporary contexts or mass media and the internet, this is more important than ever. In both what information is presented to who and by who, but what information is sought out and the impact this has on development and social dynamics. Using Wikipedia as a departure point, and examining its data and usage, it’s possible to explore issues of censorship, inequality and information formation. Through this, it can be seen that controlling information and credibility through linguistics particularly is vital to social dynamics and education and calls into question the validity of the statement ‘freedom to information’.
As an independent resource, Wikipedia strives to compile a catalogue of articles covering a near total range of topics. It does not claim to be expert in fields and subjects but often provides an adept starting off point in research tasks, providing rudimentary understandings, especially if you did not know where to look or have the right membership. By its nature it depends on community collaboration and the dedication of individuals, which is what opens it to such an interesting debate. Through the lens of Wikipedia and its reputation the following questions can be explored:
- How important really is freedom to information?
- Where is the inequality in access to information and what produces the barriers?
- What does information access tell us about transnational history and networks, given the frequent interactions with national bodies and governments?
- How free is access to information through mass media, acknowledging the human cost and resources involved in getting to it – can it really be free?
Issues of inequality and censorship have persisted throughout history, and in some ways Wikipedia is the latest platform for the debate to play out or be visible through. However, it gives a unique angle into ideas of ‘cultural censorship’ and how social dynamics influence what is considered information and how important/useful it is, as a humanitarian resource.
Wikipedia is not free from bias, but when there is a dearth of information it can fill the gaps on issues like hygiene and sexual health, particularly in disadvantaged areas (be that in a global context or a local one).
Despite its potential as an educational tool, it has a tendency to be discredited as unreliable or vulnerable to exploitation. Many in positions of information authority (meaning teachers, academics, librarians) argue against the validity of Wikipedia as a resource due to its collaborative and somewhat anonymous nature. If it was so unreliable however, it would be safe to assume that it would not be subject to as much censorship around the globe as it is. From this example through Wikipedia, it raises questions of information construction and social institutions role in producing ‘knowledge’, and the impacts this has. This topic, what is a fact and how is it constructed, is worthy of an essay on its own. The historical basis of the arguments surrounding information credibility and mass media, to be explored through Wikipedia in the project.
To do this the approach taken will be that of a case study and branches through history, following the historical background of collaborative knowledge and censorship, and the benefit this can have as a humanitarian resource. Primary sources stating intent and effect from both Wikipedia and other interacting bodies can facilitate exploring the questions raised through linguistics, as well as historical debates on social construction of information and legitimacy, which when applied to Wikipedia, can show the inequalities and class dynamics at play in information access. Several biographical examples lend itself to this study, as the individual motivations and phrases are illustrative of the real impacts of Wikipedia as a resource in relation to the questions. This is a worthy topic to study given the casual pervasiveness of Wikipedia and its information, considering its near constant use globally and the conclusions that can be drawn from how it is regarded, and how it is used.