Wary of Wikipedia

Quick, free and easily accessible information is what the Internet promised to offer when it came into great popularity during the 1990s. But anyone who's ever cited a Web site with faulty information knows the Internet is far from reliable.

Enter Wikipedia. It seemed like everything we've ever hoped for from the World Wide Web. It's free, has a plethora of information about mainstream and obscure topics and is all located in one place.

But it comes with danger, especially for college students searching for reliable information and facts quickly.

The concept is simple: Anyone can edit and contribute to the Web page, making it an ever-expanding Internet encyclopedia for the common man. But there's the rub.

Last week The New York Times reported that Wikipedia essentially slandered a former Tennessean editor with an erroneous entry about his involvement with the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy and his brother Bobby.

While that article about Augosto Pinochet, Sir Walter Raleigh or drupes may seem quote-worthy in a final research paper, students should beware. There is a chance the information you quoted is completely wrong.

To combat the potential of flawed entries, Wikipedia will soon begin a review mechanism where experts and readers review the articles, but the system hasn't yet been implemented and the sheer amount of material makes the process like trying to find a million needles in the world's largest haystack.

The Web site doesn't even know who entered the erroneous information; it could have been anybody.

The number of articles on Wikipedia is approaching two million and quickly growing. But as information you need becomes available, watch out. Please, just use Wikipedia as a reference, not a source. Consult additional sources that are credible and verified. It may just save you from a failing grade.