Opinion
Wikipedia's war against scientific disinformation
- Mary Mark Ockerbloom was a Wikipedian-in-residence at the Science History Institute from 2013 to 2020.
The playbook for undermining scientific expertise was created in the 1920s. Perhaps surprisingly, its creators were scientists. Wikipedia is one battleground in the hundred years' war against scientific disinformation. The tactics of scientific disinformation that were developed then are still used today. We need to be aware of these tactics so that we can counter them; we also need more scientifically-savvy allies to help us get it right.