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→Accountability and the Seigenthaler Hoax: more on Wales
The false information remained in Wikipedia for many months until a friend of the victim discovered the biographical entry in September 2005 and alerted Seigenthaler, who then contacted the Wikimedia foundation to have the article corrected. Daniel Brandt, another victim of a spurious biographical entry sought to establish accountability and discovered the perpetrator of the prank was an acquaintance of a Seigenthaler relative.<ref>http://www.journalism.cf.ac.uk/2006/online/index.php?id=parse-195-0-0-251&article=336&author=India+Camm</ref> Seigenthaler, the first editorial director of ''[[USA Today]]'' returned to the editorial pages of that publication to criticize the lack of accountability and threat Wikipedia poses to free speech.<ref>http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2005-11-29-wikipedia-edit_x.htm</ref> After his retirement from ''USA Today'' Seigenthaler founded of the First Amendment Center, an organization dedicated to a national dialogue about [[First Amendment]] rights and values.
The false information remained in Wikipedia for many months until a friend of the victim discovered the biographical entry in September 2005 and alerted Seigenthaler, who then contacted the Wikimedia foundation to have the article corrected. Daniel Brandt, another victim of a spurious biographical entry sought to establish accountability and discovered the perpetrator of the prank was an acquaintance of a Seigenthaler relative.<ref>http://www.journalism.cf.ac.uk/2006/online/index.php?id=parse-195-0-0-251&article=336&author=India+Camm</ref> Seigenthaler, the first editorial director of ''[[USA Today]]'' returned to the editorial pages of that publication to criticize the lack of accountability and threat Wikipedia poses to free speech.<ref>http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2005-11-29-wikipedia-edit_x.htm</ref> After his retirement from ''USA Today'' Seigenthaler founded of the First Amendment Center, an organization dedicated to a national dialogue about [[First Amendment]] rights and values.
On December 5, 2005, Wikipedia founder [[Jimbo Wales]] and Seigenthaler appeared on [[CNN]]. Wales told CNN's [[Kyra Philips]], "we're trying to make some minor adjustments." Seigenthaler complained about the lack of accountability; "with accountability comes credilbility" Seigenthaler observed, and expressed the fear that, ""I'm afraid we're going to get regulated media as a result of that. And I -- I tell you, I think if you can't fix it, both fix the history as well as the biography pages, I think it's going to be in real trouble, and we're going to have to be fighting to keep the government from regulating you."<ref>http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0512/05/lol.02.html</ref>
On December 5, 2005, Wikipedia founder [[Jimbo Wales]] and Seigenthaler appeared on [[CNN]]. An exchange between CNN moderator [[Kyra Phillips]] and Wales went like this:
{{Cquote|PHILLIPS:...I ran my name. I was shocked to see what was under my name. I was pretty disappointed. I saw that my bio was on there, which of course comes from CNN. But then there was stuff about how liberals -- I'm accused by liberals of showing right-wing bias, and then it links onto other blogs with a bias, and I look like a right-wing commie, if you were to look at my name on this Wikipedia site. And I'm telling you right now, Jimmy, that's not how I want people to see me and understand me. And what I'm about and what I write about in my interviews, et cetera. So, you know, it's not just individuals like John, but me and many other people, that just have concerns that this is creating gossip that can be very harmful. And people go to these sites thinking that this is the truth.}}
{{Cquote|WALES: Well, I mean, I think the real key is that the site matures over time, the -- all of the articles are edited over and over and over, and improved. Anyone's free to contribute. You're free to go and contribute.}}
This in fact is not the case. Phillips was not free to answer, and/or remove the objectionable content within her biographical entry, as Mr. Daniel Brandt at that exact moment wass discovering. Not four days earlier, Wales told ''Editor & Publisher'' magazine regarding Brandt's objections to a false Wikipedia biography about him, "I find it hard to take him very seriously at all," and libelous slanders remained in Brandt's biography from nearly a year and half.
Wales told CNN's Philips, "we're trying to make some minor adjustments." Seigenthaler complained about the lack of accountability; "with accountability comes credilbility" Seigenthaler observed, and expressed the fear that, "I'm afraid we're going to get regulated media as a result of that. And I -- I tell you, I think if you can't fix it, both fix the history as well as the biography pages, I think it's going to be in real trouble, and we're going to have to be fighting to keep the government from regulating you."<ref>http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0512/05/lol.02.html</ref>
Wales alleged that, "we are very, very responsive to complaints and concerns," however there are well known cases within the Wikipedia Community of persons who have notified the WikiMedia Foundation about false and libelous material on Wikipedia webservers accessible to Google Search Engines which have gone unheeded.
Wales alleged that, "we are very, very responsive to complaints and concerns," however there are well known cases within the Wikipedia Community of persons who have notified the WikiMedia Foundation about false and libelous material on Wikipedia webservers accessible to Google Search Engines which have gone unheeded.