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PUNIT R's avatar

ok I really object to calling Wikipedia left liberal. You are calling truth itself left liberal. Its leads to the same mistakes that mainstream 'left liberal' publications make, giving space to conservative voices just to balance it out. Even if what they say is complete horseshit.

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Gurwinder's avatar

Wikipedia is not truth. It's a product of its sources (which are overwhelmingly left-liberal institutions) and of the civilization that maintains it (which is the most liberal civilization to ever exist.)

Don't get me wrong, I like liberalism. But devotion to it creates blindspots.

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Tim Gent's avatar

I love Wikipedia and use it all the time, maybe a little less trust in it might be good but as you've pointed out, we all overestimate the influence misinformation and bias has. Mainly Wikipedia is a quick lookup for factual information. In the UK teachers recommend using it but insist on article sources being checked, so the inoculation is part of education. Similar approaches are being taken with ChatGPT.

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Graham Cunningham's avatar

Despite this left-liberal bias it is important not to devalue the extent to which Wikipedia is a hugely valuable quick reference resource for satisfying one's curious about myriad things that don't really have any 'political' dimension (especially, in my case, history) - unless one is one of those (usually) lefty politics-obsessives who see every damn thing as 'political'.

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Richard W. Memmer's avatar

In other words -- discernment is just part of the deal (as it is with everything).

On that note: тАЬBiasтАЭ gets all the press when prejudice is paramount to the problem. If it were "just" bias, convincing you with overwhelming and irrefutable evidence would still be difficult тАФ but youтАЩd be willing to be convinced. Prejudice doesnтАЩt roll that way. In fact, it doesnтАЩt roll anywhere тАФ as you donтАЩt budge one bit, and take pride in it, no less.

As a friend comically put it: ItтАЩs not тАЬPride and BiasтАЭ

How Would You Tell the Story of AmericaтАЩs Decline over 30 years in the Gutter Games of Government? https://onevoicebecametwo.life/2023/04/15/how-would-you-tell-the-story-of-americas-decline-over-30-years-in-the-gutter-games-of-government/

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The Cosmopolitan Reactionary's avatar

Could you provide a specific example of a тАЬleft liberalтАЭ publication giving space to conservative horseshit to balance something out?

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Eugine Nier's avatar

Well, most left liberals consider the truth to be "conservative horseshit", so anytime a mainstream publication accidently says something that's true would be an example.

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