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Fake news may have played a role in the 2016 US presidential election, experts say.

If open collaboration worked for Wikipedia, it could work for combating fake news.

This is the suggestion of Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales in a guest column Friday in The Guardian. He suggests the human element is crucial to discerning false from factual stories -- enhanced formulas for social networks and other aggregator sites to weed out fake news aren't enough.

And the way to get there, said Wales, requires people committed to sharing facts in open dialog and in open online spaces.

Sound familiar? It should. It's a similar structure to Wikipedia's free online, open-source encyclopedia.

Google, Facebook, Twitter and other networks have been cracking down on fake news after coming under fire for helping spread it. Fake news became such a hot topic in the run-up to the 2016 US presidential election that then-President Barack Obama warned of fake news' power to destroy democracy.

"Social media feeds, doctored videos and instant messaging" are the biggest culprits in spreading deliberately incorrect and misleading information, Wales wrote about the rash of stories posing as legitimate news that don't actually meet journalistic fact-checking standards.

"We need this visibility," Wales added, "Because it sheds light on the process and origins of information and creates a structure for accountability." You can find Wales' column here.

Read next: Here's how to avoid falling into the fake news trap

CNET Magazine: Check out a sample of the stories you'll find in CNET's newsstand edition.

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How do you beat fake news? Transparency, says Wikipedia co-founder - CNET

February 2, 2017 11:59 AM

Warren Mayor Jim Fouts (credit: City of Warren)

WARREN (CBS Detroit) What do controversial R&B artist R. Kelly and septuagenarian Warren Mayor Jim Fouts have in common?

Theyre on the same wikipedia page.

Information about Fouts has been added to a wikipedia page describing the Shaggy defense, which is a concept based on the classic reggae and R&B song hip It Wasnt Me.

The song captures a man caught red handed cheating on his girlfriend. Refresh your memory here.

The lyrics include she caught me on the counter (It wasnt me) Saw me bangin on the sofa (It wasnt me),Saw me kissin on the sofa (It wasnt me), I even had her in the shower (It wasnt me), She even caught me on camera (It wasnt me).

Following the popularity of the song, getting caught on tape in the act of something illegal or unethical, and then denying it was you, is known as the Shaggy defense.

And now its Wikipedia official. The Wikipedia page lists several Shaggy defense use cases, including R. Kelly, who was allegedly captured on video having sex with an underage girl and successfully denied in court that it was him.

The newest entry includes Fouts. Wikipedia says this about Fouts and the Shaggy defense:

The strategy was again used and cited in 2017 when James R. Fouts, the mayor of the Detroitsuburb of Warren, Michigan, faced controversy after multiple audio recordings alleged to be of him mocking African Americans, women, and the mentally challenged were released to the press. Fouts responded to the tapes release by repeatedly stating that the voice on the tapes is not his, earning him widespread mockery and calls to resign his office.

Despite the outcry, Fouts repeatedly denied it was his voice on the tapeheardmocking women, the mentally disabled, and black people. Council members have said they cant force him to resign, and he has said that he will not resign.

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Wikipedia Adds Jim Fouts To Description Of 'Shaggy Defense' Alongside R. Kelly. - CBS Local

Craigslist founder Craig Newmark: To ensure Wikipedias vitality, people of good will need to work together to prevent trolling, harassment and cyber-bullying from interfering with the common good

Craig Newmark of eponymous website Craigslist wants to eradicate trolling and other forms of toxic behaviour on Wikipedia.

With a donation of $500,000, Newmark is the initial seed funder for a new initiative by the Wikimedia Foundation to address harassment and uncivil conduct on the collaborative online encyclopaedia.

The non-profit organisation, Wikimedia Foundation, reports that harassment on Wikipedia has been shown to reduce participation with over 50 per cent of Wikipedia contributors who had been victims of such online abuse stating that they withdrew from the site as a result.

To ensure Wikipedias vitality, people of good will need to work together to prevent trolling, harassment and cyber-bullying from interfering with the common good, said Newmark.

The funding will drive what is being called a community health initiative to develop more and better tools for identifying, reporting and ridding the site of abusive content.

https://blog.wikimedia.org/2017/01/26/community-health-initiative-grant/

Link:
Craigslist founder fights for safer Wikipedia - Irish Times

Picture: Wikipedia/Mark Wilson/Getty Images

On Monday night President Donald Trump dismissed Sally Yates as acting attorney general, after she told justice department lawyers not to defend his executive order banning immigration from sevenMuslim countries.

He appointed Dana Boenta, the Unites States attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, to be acting attorney general.

Mr Boente has worked for the Justice Department since 1984 under both Republican and Democratic administrations.

In October 2015 he was nominated by President Barack Obama to be the United States attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and was later confirmed by the Senate.

He told the Washington Post, when asked whether he would defend the president's executive order against a lawsuit:

I was enforcing it this afternoon.

Our career department employees were defending the action in court, and I expect thats what theyll do tomorrow, appropriately and properly.

All as it should be.

Dana James Boente (born February 7, 1954) is the newest sock puppet for the Trump administration.

Some mischievous anonymous editor had their way with the Wikipedia page.

The error was swiftly corrected, but you can see an old version of the article, here.

Thank goodness for speedy Wikipedia editors.

More: This is former acting attorney general Sally Yates and she just did something amazing

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Donald Trump's new attorney general has already had his Wikipedia page vandalised - The indy100

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For this episode of Wikipedia: Fact or Fiction? we sat down with Ronnie James Dios widow, Wendy Dio, so she could prove and disprove whats written about her late husband on Wikipedia.

It would have been one of our great joys to do this segment with Ronnie, but since Wendy Dio knows the legendary singer better than anyone, theres nobody on earth who can better expound on Ronnies life. Wendy immediately impressed us with her knowledge of Ronnies early life. She knew all about Ronnie learning to play trumpet at age five, adding that Dios father made him practice two hours a day to master the instrument.

The tale of how Ronald James Padavona got his stage name is widely varied, from potentially being inspired by mobster Johnny Dio or Ronnies grandmother suggesting the name because he had a gift from God in his voice. Wendy sets the record straight once and for all in this clip.

Wendy also revealed she has an interesting story about Johnny Dio in an autobiography Ronnie was writing before he died. Ronnie got up to hisRainbow years with his story and although it was too difficult for many years, Wendy is ready to pick up where Ronnie left off, aiming to finish the metal icons official memoir.

Get ready for Wendy Dio to set the record straight about Ronnie James Dio in the latest edition of Wikipedia: Fact or Fiction? in the video above.

Watch More Episodes of Wikipedia: Fact or Fiction?

See Where Ronnie James Dio Ranks Among Our Top 66 Hard Rock + Metal Frontmen of All Time

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Ronnie James Dio (by Wendy Dio) 'Wikipedia: Fact or Fiction?' - Loudwire