A case study in why Wikipedia is an imperfect source Check out this op/ed column, originally published in USAToday, by John Seigenthaler Sr., former assistant to Robert Kennedy (JFK's brother and Attorney General). This guy was defamed by an anonymous contributor to Wikipedia, who suggested that Seigenthaler had some role in the assisinations of JFK and Robert Kennedy. According to published reports, Seigenthaler complaint has led to a change in the protocols for submitting information to Wikipedia. Now users must register to contribute to the online open-source encyclopedia. Here's the intro from the Seigenthaler piece:

This is a highly personal story about Internet character assassination. It could be your story.

I have no idea whose sick mind conceived the false, malicious "biography" that appeared under my name for 132 days on Wikipedia, the popular, online, free encyclopedia whose authors are unknown and virtually untraceable.

Link: A false Wikipedia 'biography' - Yahoo! News


And here you'll find the story as reported by Information Week.  ¶ 11:30 PM