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    February 07, 2008

    Wikipedia: Quick, reliable …but is it citable?

    Wisconsin LawyerWisconsin Lawyer
    Vol. 81, No. 2, February 2008

    Legal News & Trends

    Wikipedia: Quick, reliable …but is it citable?

    Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit, is without a doubt one of the largest free online reference resources. The fact that anyone can edit it, coupled with well-publicized Wikipedia hoaxes, have led many lawyers to classify Wikipedia as unreliable. Nothing could be further from the truth. Due to the vast number of Wikipedia users, the resource is self-correcting. If someone edits an entry in a way most of us would view as untrue, it is likely that the entry would be edited again by another Wikipedia user within seconds.

    Even though lawyers might understandably feel uncomfortable citing Wikipedia in a brief because the cited entry could change, many court opinions have included citations (within footnotes) to Wikipedia.

    Source: Jim Calloway's Law Practice Tips Blog. Found on WisBar's Practice411 Advice Alert.

    Visit WisBar.org's Practice Management area for more information, including a New York Times article, about this topic. Let us know what you think. Should citing Wikipedia be allowed in Wisconsin courts? Email Wisconsin Lawyer magazine.


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