[Med-Events] Newspapers trapped by a false quote in Wikipedia (fwd)

[J.A. Terranson]

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Date: Fri, 8 May 2009 00:55:20 +0200
From: axel ellrodt <axel.ellrodt.lists at gmail.com>
Reply-To: That which is not fit for CCM-L and is also not *just* humor.
    <med-events at ccm-l.org>
To: That which is not fit for CCM-L and is also not *just* humor.
    <med-events at ccm-l.org>
Subject: [Med-Events] Newspapers trapped by a false quote in Wikipedia

very mildly amended Googlish

Newspapers trapped by a false quote in Wikipedia
Constance Jamet (lefigaro.fr)
07/05/2009 | Mise ` jour : 15:11 | Commentaires 29 | Ajouter ` ma silection
To demonstrate the misuse of the Web may be journalists, one student
added to the page dedicated to Maurice Jarre words invented. A quote
taken daily by many Anglo-Saxons.

This is a quote that was found in the columns of newspapers and blogs
of the Anglo-Saxon world. At the end of March, passing of french
musician Maurice Jarre, several English newspapers like The Guardian
and The Independent London, but also prestigious Indian and Australian
newspapers, in their obituaries quote "poetics" thoughts of the
artist: "I could say that my life itself was a soundtrack. Music was
my life, music gave me life, and music is what I will be remembered
long after I leave this life. When I die, there will be a last waltz
playing in my head, only I can hear. " Problem, this sentence was
never written nor uttered by the composer, who died at the age of 84
after a battle with cancer.

It comes from the imagination of Shane Fitzgerald, a young man of 22
years studying the sociology and economics at University College
Dublin. The Irish student revealed Wednesday to have fooled the press
by publishing false citations on Wikipedia.

In search of a topic for his presentation of the course on
globalization, the student decides to show how journalists are
dependent on information circulating on the Internet, doing a little
experiment on Wikipedia, "accessed by many journalists. " Shortly
after the death of the composer of "Lawrence of Arabia", he published
on the English version of the online encyclopedia that famous quote.
Wikipedia was suspicious, for he did not quote sources, and removed
it. But determined, Shane Fitzgerald posts again. In his third
attempt, the apocryphal statement escapes the vigilance of the
moderators and remains twenty-five hours in line. Enough to be copied,
 particularly by The Guardian, The London Independent, BBC Music
Magazine and the Daily Mail.

Ethical qualms

This success has exceeded all expectations Shane. "I did not expect
that it goes so far. I expected that it can be found on blogs or
sites, but not on quality newspapers, "he told the Irish Times. But
the young man confides to have asked questions about the ethics of
such an approach. "Had I the right to use the death of someone to
perform this social experiment? But when I learned that on TV his
passing, I knew I had a good story, a news piece on which journalists
would be under pressure to write quickly. So I tried to find a phrase
that would not harm the reputation of Maurice Jarre, "said he.

To the great surprise of the student, who finally changed the topic of
presentation, the weeks passed and the newspaper are aware of nothing.
Shane decided to reveal by e-mail his trickery. The Daily Mail and BBC
Music Magazine has since withdrawn the subpoena, which remains visible
at many sites. The Guardian has not only published an erratum, but
also an article on this subject.

"The timing for Shane to upload his hoax could not be better. Shane
changed the Wikipedia page of Maurice Jarre in the night, hours after
the announcement of his death [23 hours proved to Paris time on Sunday
29 March]. We gave the topic the next morning to a journalist who had
only a few hours to write my paper, "said the daily. "What is worrying
is that have discovered the pot aux roses (uncovered ze mystuhry)
because the author of this farce came out on his own" "However, the
moral of the story is not that journalists should stop looking at
Wikipedia, but they should not duplicate information that they can not
trace the origin," says The Guardian, who regrets that Shane
Fitzgerald had waited a month before revealing the truth.
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