Idea Lab

Can Ushahidi Rely on Crowdsourced Verifications?

by Heather Ford
2011 Knight News Challenge Winner

During the aftermath of the Chilean earthquake last year, the Ushahidi-Chile team received two reports -- one through the platform, the other via Twitter -- that indicated an English-speaking foreigner was trapped under a building in Santiago. "Please send help," the report read. "i am buried under rubble in my home at Lautaro 1712 Estación Central, Santiago, Chile. My phone doesnt work." A few hours later, a second, similar report was sent to the platform via Twitter: "RT @biodome10: plz send help to 1712 estacion central, santiago chile. im stuck under a building with my child. #hitsunami #chile we have...

• November 28, 2011
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Wikipedia Isn't Journalism, But Are Wikipedians Reluctant Journalists?

by Heather Ford
2011 Knight News Challenge Winner

Wikipedia articles on breaking news stories dominate page views on the world's sixth-largest website. Perhaps more importantly, these articles drive the most significant editor contribution -- especially among new editors. In the first three months of this year, English Wikipedia articles with the most contributors were the 2011 Tucson shooting, the 2011 Egyptian revolution and the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami articles with 460, 405 and 785 editors contributing to the growth of the article respectively. Interestingly, a number of Wikipedia policies discourage writing articles on breaking news. One of Wikipedia's 42 policies, titled "What Wikipedia is not" (or WP:NOT),...

• October 20, 2011
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