Deliberative Democracy: On the Wisdom of Crowds in Wikipedia
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Abstract
This research article aims to answer the question that, how does the wisdom of crowds can help a justification to support reliability in Wikipedia? This is documentary research with the utilization of a philosophical approach. The study found that there are three arguments against the wisdom of crowds. First, a large number of people certainly do contribute to Wikipedia, but only a few of these contributors work on any given Wikipedia entry. Second, It is not clear how diverse the contributors to Wikipedia really are, because they are more likely to be English‐speaking and males. And third, the Wikipedia process is subject to small‐group dynamics that can make a group much less reliable, and emphasis on reaching consensus can stifle dissent. These arguments show that Wikipedia does not really have the “Wisdom of Crowds”. Therefore, it is not possible to use the above concepts to justification supporting Wikipedia. However, I do defend that Wikipedia has a Wisdom of the Crowds. The three arguments cannot lead to the denial that Wikipedia is a source of knowledge. This article proposes that We, as readers of Wikipedia, must be aware that the information, even though it comes from the wisdom of crowds, is always necessary to investigate.
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