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While Wikipedia is often the first site many internet users visit when looking up a celebrity or historical event, those who are searching specifically for topics related to Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders often find the online encyclopedia lacking.

"It's one of those things Wikipedia is trying to tackle," Andrew Lih, a professor of journalism at American University and a longtime Wikipedia contributor, told NBC News.

The author of the book "The Wikipedia Revolution: How A Bunch of Nobodies Created The World's Greatest Encyclopedia," Lih said that while he believes Wikipedia has been more inclusive than the Encyclopedia Britannica and other storied encyclopedias, "It's still quite short of where it should be. It's is still written by mainly Western male contributors."

Lih noted that while there are some areas in which Wikipedia editors create articles related to Asian topics that informative and accurate, there are blind spots.

"When it comes to pop culture and things like Pokemon and manga, it's actually very good," he said. "As for Asian Americans, [the lack of articles] reflect the state of Asian-American history in schools."

When the average American high school or college graduate does not have a strong background in Asian-American topics, Lih explained, those gaps are reflected on Wikipedia.

"There's no original research on Wikipedia. You have to link to an original source," he said. "Encyclopedias always summarize what is out there and there are some Wikipedia entries that source 200 to 300 articles at the bottom. If you don't have the scholarship online, you can't do that."

One way scholars and organizations are trying to ensure Wikipedia includes information on Asian-American and Pacific Islander topics is by hosting "edit-a-thons," inviting community members to help fill in gaps by teaching them how to create pages and format articles correctly.

A curator for the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center, Adriel Luis said he noticed a gap between the art world and what was reflected on Wikipedia.

"In fields that were nuanced like Asian-American art and Asian-American poetry, figures considered notable may not be considered so on Wikipedia," Luis told NBC News. "When it came to Wikipedia, [those entries] either would not exist or if they did pop up they would be flagged for things like the sources not being cited properly."

Those reasons were a big part of the reason the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center hosted a series of edit-a-thons in 2015 and created a guide for users interested in organizing their own.

"They were really successful," Luis recalled. "We'd work with organizations and museums across the country and including places in Asia. I learned more about Asian-American artists that I didn't know about before."

Luis added that the Smithsonian is planning to eventually host more edit-a-thons in the future and is also examining other ways "Asian Americans don't have the right amount of visibility on the Internet."

"We are looking at things like metadata," he said. "How can you search for 'Asian-American art' and get a more representative response? It's not just about Wikipedia, so the Wikipedia Edit-A-Thons were just the beginning."

Thinking of becoming a Wikipedia editor? Below is a small selection of notable Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders who do not currently have Wikipedia pages:

Li Ling-Ai: The Chinese-American film producer's work on the Oscar-winning 1941 World War II documentary Kukan was deliberately uncredited by her fellow filmmakers. Li's life and career is the subject of the new documentary "Finding Kukan."

Rachel Kealaonapua O'Sullivan: At the age of 17, Rachel Kealaonapua O'Sullivan took home the Bronze medal in the three-meter board diving event at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City. She also became the first Hawaiian athlete to medal in diving in the process, according to the Hawaii Sports Hall of Hame.

Shih-Chun Wang: The late Chinese-American neuroscientist made several critical discoveries that lead to our current understanding of motion sickness and drugs that prevent vomiting and other related illnesses.

Takashi "Halo" Hirose: A Japanese-American swimmer, Hirose was a considered an athletic superstar in the 1930s and was preparing for the eventually cancelled 1940 Olympics when World War II began.

Emerick K. Ishikawa: A weightlifter from Hawaii, Ishikawa reportedly stunned the crowd at the 1944 U.S. National Weightlifting Championships in Chattanooga, Tennessee, when he set a world record in the Bantamweight Class, according to the Hawaii Sports Hall of Fame.

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Community Works to Fill Wikipedia's Asian-American, Pacific Islander Gaps - NBCNews.com

Quartz

Reddit is going nuts over Wikipedia's spending, but it's doing far better than its competitors Quartz Redditors are getting worked up over a post titled, Wikipedia has cancer. Its author is a longtime Wikipedian named Guy Macon who analyzed the spending of Wikipedia's owner, the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. Macon finds that Wikimedia's ...

Read more:
Reddit is going nuts over Wikipedia's spending, but it's doing far better than its competitors - Quartz

When compiling a list of websites that are considered the cornerstones of the World Wide Web, one of the first things that come to mind is, without a doubt, Wikipedia. Not only is it considered the holy grail of informational access, it is also regarded as a treasure trove of information and, when we consider the cursory background information regarding an event, the context of a word, a historical event or the history of a name, Wikipedia is usually the first thing that comes to mind.

But, why? Why is this site the first one to pop up during a search for information when there are other, more comprehensive websites that specialize in whatever topic peaks our curiosity? The answer is simple: Wikipedia uses search engine algorithms to their full capability. Not to mention that the numerous references on every page improves these odds.

However, does being the most visible source of information on the internet make Wikipedia the most trustworthy source? Does having a huge database of information make it the most reliable? Of course not. Wikipedia is an open source website that relies on its users for the collection of data, which means that it can also be very easily manipulated. Serving more as a compilation of information rather than a content creator, the majority of information available at Wikipedia is taken from other sources.

During the process of collecting this information, it is possible to encounter misinformation, causes for speculation and personal opinions of web editors and writers whose opinions are masqueraded as cold, hard facts.

The end of April was marked with controversy between Turkey and Wikipedia. After the website was blocked in Turkey, many users from the country expressed their displeasure on social media. While these naysayers were not entirely wrong to express their frustrations over the blocking of the website, it is important to consider all sides of the story before casting blame on one party or another.

After all, Wikipedia is, of course, an essential part of daily life for many people nowadays. According to statements issued by official sources, there were four reasons that compelled the blockage of Wikipedia in Turkey.

- Denial of Turkey's request for Wikipedia to open an office in Turkey

- Wikipedia's disregard for international law

- Wikipedia's disregard of Turkish court orders

- Wikipedia's abetting of anti-Turkey smear campaigns; whether intentional or unintentional

Now, while the said four reasons may have contributed to the government's decision, from the perspective of the rule of law, the fourth reason is the most important one that led to the current situation. It will also probably be the main reason that will untangle this controversy.

Wikipedia was blocked because it has recorded Turkey as a supporter of Daesh in numerous lists. When we look at the Turkish court order that led to the block, it refers to the listing of Turkey amid subtopics on pages regarding the foreign involvement in the Syrian civil war as well as state-sponsored terrorism.

One might say that since Wikipedia is an open source, Turkish users could simply correct the information without the need for court involvement or a ban. However, despite protests across Turkey and the resistance of Turkish editors on the site, the controversial section of Wikipedia which is spreading the lie that Turkey supports Daesh was put into protected mode, thus leaving it untouchable by Turkish users.

After Turkey blocked Wikipedia, the site challenged the court decision, appealing that the verdict be overturned.

Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales tweeted that, "Access to information is a fundamental human right. Turkish people, I will always stand with you to fight for this right."

I have to say that considering the circumstances behind the situation, I find the tweet to be both funny and completely irrelevant; not to mention a bit familiar because the tweet itself, along with numerous articles published by Western media on the subject, are trying to paint this as a government crackdown on human rights or, even worse, as the tip of the iceberg in a banning frenzy in Turkey.

Considering that Turkey was the slandered party here, painting the country as the instigator can only be referred to as manipulation at worst and, at best, blatant disregard for the facts.

This is not about human rights. This is about international and national law with a dose of corporate policies. This was not the first time Turkey has been caught in the crosshairs of being portrayed as the big bad wolf who reared his ugly head against innocent, conglomerate internet companies.

I am sure many readers can recall other Twitter controversies in recent years. Twitter and Western media have followed suit by initially declaring the issue an "undemocratic crackdown on fundamental, communicative rights." However, the end result was finding a compromise between national and international laws, and corporate policy.

So, in the end, the most logical roadmap for Wikipedia moving forward should include a compromise and adherence to quality; in other words, Wikipedia should make it a priority to not allow their site to be used as a tool for slander and manipulation against Turkey, or any country for that matter.

Link:
Wikipedia controversy: Same old story - Daily Sabah

China is developing an online version of its national encyclopedia as an alternative to Wikipedia. As the South China Morning Post reports, the forthcoming third edition of the Chinese Encyclopedia will include 300,000 entries, with about 1,000 words per entry. When completed next year, it will be about the same size as the Chinese version of Wikipedia.

The Chinese Encyclopedia is not a book, but a Great Wall of culture, Yang Muzhi, the projects editor-in-chief and chairman of the Book and Periodicals Distribution Association of China, said at an event last month.

Our goal is not to catch up, but overtake.

Wikipedia is available in China, where many websites and media outlets are heavily censored, though entries on politically sensitive subjects such as the Dalai Lama or President Xi Jinping are blocked.

Speaking at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in April, Yang said the new Chinese Encyclopedia aims to guide and lead the public and society, according to the South China Morning Post. More than 20,000 authors from universities and research institutions are working to compile the encyclopedia, which officials described as a digital book of everything. In a newspaper article last year, Yang wrote that our goal is not to catch up, but overtake Wikipedia with the new Chinese Encyclopedia.

Other countries have sought to censor Wikipedia or develop their own government-approved versions of the site. Authorities in Turkey blocked access to the site last week, reportedly because the site did not respond to government requests to remove content from writers accused of supporting terror. In 2014, Russia announced plans to build an alternative version of Wikipedia, in an attempt to provide what officials described as more detailed and reliable information about the country.

Excerpt from:
China is building its own version of Wikipedia - The Verge

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region A court in Ankara has rejected a call to lift a ban on the crowd-sourced online encyclopedia Wikipedia which was banned in Turkey on April 29 on charges of posing a threat to national security.

The Wikimedia Foundation, which operates Wikipedia, appealed against this decision stating that freedom of expression has been violated as the entire platform had been restricted, not just the two disputed articles which were posted.

Turkeys Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK) stated that it had blocked all access to Wikipedia, citing a law allowing it to ban access to any website deemed obscene or a threat to national security.

The Ankara 1st Criminal Court of Peace ordered the ban after Wikipedias administration refused to remove two pages stating that Ankara channeled support to jihadists in Syria, Turkeys Hurriyet Daily News reported.

The court rejected the appeal on May 5, however, citing a law that enables a broader access ban when a specific violation cannot be prevented. The court stated on its ruling, As can be understood from the mentioned legal texts, freedom of expression is not one of absolute rights. It may be restricted when conditions are suitable and in situations where moderateness is required,

It also noted that Turkey was still under a state of emergency declared after the failed July 2016 military coup attempt, and its obligations based on the European Convention on Human Rights were temporarily suspended, accordign to the Turkish newspaper.

The Wikimedia Foundation has called upon the government in Turkey to restore full access to the site.

Link:
Turkish court rejects appeal to reverse ban on Wikipedia - Rudaw