The Editor’s Note at the end of the article updates the facts to show that Essjay, a Wikipedia site administrator and contributor, was actually a twenty-four year old and holds no advanced degrees, and he has never taught. However, originally, the article stated that he was “a tenured professor of religion at a private university” with “a Ph.D. in theology and a degree in canon law.” His responsibilities included handling disagreements about the accuracy of the site’s articles and taking action against users who violate site policy. I think this calls into question the New Yorker’s credibility more so than Wikipedia’s. Most people understand that Wikipedia is not that reliable, in fact most of my professors and teachers I have had will not allow students to cite to Wikipedia because it is written by unaccredited individuals. However, the New Yorker should have done more research before posting the credentials of this individual. Especially since “Essjay” was a pseudonym anyways. Even if they could not verify his credentials, they should have at least acknowledged that in the original article.
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