Editing History of Wikipedia (section)

===External impact===
* In 2007, Wikipedia was deemed fit to be used as a major source by the [[UK Intellectual Property Office]] in a [[Formula One]] trademark case ruling.<ref>In deciding [http://www.ipo.gov.uk/tm/t-decisionmaking/t-challenge/t-challenge-decision-results/o16907.pdf the trademark of F1 racing] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071031053106/http://www.ipo.gov.uk/tm/t-decisionmaking/t-challenge/t-challenge-decision-results/o16907.pdf |date=31 October 2007 }}, the [[UK Intellectual Property Office]] considered both the reliability of Wikipedia and its usefulness as a reliable source of evidence:
: "Wikipedia has sometimes suffered from the self-editing that is intrinsic to it, giving rise at times to potentially [[libel]]lous statements. However, inherently, I cannot see that what is in Wikipedia is any less likely to be true than what is published in a book or on the websites of news organisations. [Formula One's lawyer] did not express any concerns about the Wikipedia evidence [presented by the plaintiff]. I consider that the evidence from Wikipedia can be taken at face value."
The case turned substantively upon evidence cited from Wikipedia in 2006 as to the usage and interpretation of the term "F1".</ref>
* Over time, Wikipedia gained recognition amongst more traditional media as a "key source" for major new events, such as the [[2004 Indian Ocean earthquake]] and related [[tsunami]], the [[2008 American Presidential election]],<ref>{{Cite news |last=Vargas |first=Jose Antonio |date=17 September 2007 |title=On Wikipedia, Debating 2008 Hopefuls' Every Facet |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |language=en-US |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/16/AR2007091601699.html |access-date=16 March 2023 |issn=0190-8286 |quote=...at the same time, it's hard to find a more up-to-date, detailed, thorough article on [[Barack Obama|Obama]] than Wikipedia's. As of Friday, Obama's article – more than 22 pages long, with 15 sections covering his personal and professional life – had a reference list of 167 sources. |archive-date=16 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230116071359/https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/16/AR2007091601699.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and 2007 [[Virginia Tech shooting]]. The latter article was accessed 750,000 times in two days, with newspapers published locally to the shootings adding that "Wikipedia has emerged as the clearinghouse for detailed information on the event."<ref>[http://www.cyberjournalist.net/news/004178.php "Wikipedia emerges as key source for Virginia Tech shootings"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071022200632/http://cyberjournalist.net/news/004178.php |date=22 October 2007 }}. ''[[The New York Times]]'' via Cyberjournalist.net. 2007. "Even ''[[The Roanoke Times]]'', which is published near [[Blacksburg, Virginia|Blacksburg, Va.]], where the university is located, noted on Thursday that Wikipedia 'has emerged as the clearinghouse for detailed information on the event'."</ref>
* On 21 February 2007, Noam Cohen of the ''New York Times'' reported that some academics were banning the use of Wikipedia as a research tool.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Cohen |first=Noam |date=21 February 2007 |title=A History Department Bans Citing Wikipedia as a Research Source |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/21/education/21wikipedia.html |access-date=16 March 2023 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=31 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170331235327/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/21/education/21wikipedia.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
* On 27 February 2007, an article in ''[[The Harvard Crimson]]'' newspaper reported that some professors at [[Harvard University]] included Wikipedia in their [[syllabus|syllabi]], but that there was a split in their perception of using Wikipedia.<ref>Child, Maxwell L. [http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=517305 "Professors Split on Wiki Debate"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081220125910/http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=517305 |date=20 December 2008 }}. ''The Harvard Crimson''. 26 February 2007.</ref>
* In July 2013, a large-scale study by four major universities identified the most [[Disputes on Wikipedia|disputed articles on Wikipedia]], finding that Israel, [[Adolf Hitler]], and God were more fiercely debated than any other subjects.<ref>{{Cite news |date=18 July 2013 |title=Wikipedia 'edit wars' revealed |publisher=BBC |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-23354613 |url-status=live |access-date=18 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130718164809/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-23354613 |archive-date=18 July 2013}}</ref>

====Effect of biographical articles====
Because Wikipedia biographies are often updated with new information comes, they are often used as a reference source on the lives of [[:Category:Living people|notable people]]. This has led to attempts to manipulate and falsify Wikipedia articles for promotional or defamatory purposes ([[#Controversies|Controversies]]) and has also led to novel uses of the biographical material provided.
* In November 2005, the [[Wikipedia Seigenthaler biography incident|Seigenthaler controversy]] occurred when a hoaxer asserted on Wikipedia that journalist John Seigenthaler had been involved in the [[Kennedy assassination]] of 1963.
* In December 2006, German comedian [[Atze Schröder]] sued Arne Klempert, secretary of [[Wikimedia Deutschland]] because he did not want his real name published in Wikipedia. Schröder later withdrew his complaint but wanted his attorney's costs to be paid by Klempert. A court decided that the artist had to cover those costs himself.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Atze muss zahlen &#124; |url=http://recentchanges.de/blog/2007/06/atze-muss-zahlen/ |access-date=16 March 2023 |language=de-DE |archive-date=1 August 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080801090032/http://recentchanges.de/blog/2007/06/atze-muss-zahlen/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
* On 16 February 2007, Turkish historian [[Taner Akçam]] was briefly detained upon arrival at [[Montréal–Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport]] because of false information on his Wikipedia biography claiming he was a terrorist.<ref name="Independent">[http://news.independent.co.uk/fisk/article2469270.ece "Caught in the deadly web of the internet"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071001000113/http://news.independent.co.uk/fisk/article2469270.ece |date=1 October 2007 }}. Robert Fisk. ''[[The Independent]]''. 21 April 2007. Retrieved 24 July 2007.</ref><ref name="CBC">{{Cite news |last=Jay |first=Paul |date=22 June 2007 |title=A question of authority |publisher=[[CBC News]] |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/tech/wikipedia2.html |access-date=24 July 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070629051007/http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/tech/wikipedia2.html |archive-date=29 June 2007}}</ref>
* In November 2008, the German [[The Left (Germany)|Left Party]] politician [[Lutz Heilmann]] claimed that some remarks in his Wikipedia article caused damage to his reputation. He succeeded in getting a court order to make Wikimedia Deutschland remove a key search portal. The result was a national outpouring of support for Wikipedia, more donations to Wikimedia Deutschland, and a rise in daily pageviews of the Lutz Heilmann article from a few dozen to half a million. Shortly after, Heilmann asked the court to withdraw the court order.<ref>{{Cite news |date=19 November 2008 |title=Lawmaker apologizes for blocking Wikipedia |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSTRE4AI7NB20081119?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews&rpc=69 |access-date=20 November 2008 |archive-date=30 May 2012 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120530171758/http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSTRE4AI7NB20081119?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews&rpc=69 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* In December 2008, Wikimedia Nederland, the Dutch chapter, won a preliminary injunction after an entrepreneur was linked in "his" article with the criminal [[Willem Holleeder]] and wanted the article deleted. The judge in [[Utrecht (province)|Utrecht]] believed Wikimedia's assertion that it has no influence on the content of Dutch Wikipedia.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Wikimedia Nederland wint kort geding Sijthoff/en – Wikimedia |url=https://nl.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Nederland_wint_kort_geding_Sijthoff/en |access-date=16 March 2023 |website=nl.wikimedia.org |language=nl |archive-date=31 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230131143955/https://nl.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Nederland_wint_kort_geding_Sijthoff/en |url-status=live }}</ref>
* In February 2009, when [[Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg|Karl Theodor Maria Nikolaus Johann Jacob Philipp Franz Joseph Sylvester Buhl-Freiherr von und zu Guttenberg]] became federal minister on 10 February 2009, an unregistered user added an eleventh given name in the article on German Wikipedia: ''Wilhelm''. Numerous newspapers took it over. When wary Wikipedians wanted to erase ''Wilhelm'', the revert was reverted with regard to those newspapers. This case about Wikipedia reliability and journalists copying from Wikipedia became known as ''Falscher Wilhelm'' ("wrong Wilhelm").<ref>{{Cite web |title=Wikimedia Deutschland press release |url=http://wikimedia.de/fileadmin/wiki/Presse/Pressemitteilungen/pm_Medienkompetenz_1.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101204025315/http://wikimedia.de/fileadmin/wiki/Presse/Pressemitteilungen/pm_Medienkompetenz_1.pdf |archive-date=4 December 2010}}; [http://futurezone.orf.at/stories/1502467/ ORF Futurezone] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090929010706/http://futurezone.orf.at/stories/1502467/ |date=29 September 2009 }}. Retrieved 27 May 2010.</ref>