Wikipedia editors face a constant battle to ensure that articles relating to cryptocurrency, and in particular specific tokens, are not clandestine adverts for said tokens. One of the prominent forces behind this task is blockchain skeptic and author of Attack of the 50 Foot Blockchain David Gerard, who has revealed the efforts he goes to in order to protect the sanctity of Wikipedia in an article for the site.
“Massive Spam Problem”
Gerard makes no bones about the fact that crypto has “a massive spam problem”, and says that the only way to conquer this issue has been through “strong reliable sources”, the cornerstone of Wikipedia’s success.
Adding that cryptocurrency is “pretty much unregulated”, which leaves scammers to run riot, Gerard reels of the litany of famous financially ruinous disasters that have hit the crypto space in its short history, from Mt Gox to QuadrigaCX, but adds that there is still plenty of “genuinely notable” blockchain and cryptocurrency information that is worth having in the archives.
Only Quality Sources in This Kitchen
But how to ensure that the information getting to the hallowed e-halls of Wikipedia is genuine? Gerard reveals that editors “stick to strong reliable sources only”, such as “mainstream press or peer-reviewed academic sources” and “no crypto blogs, no crypto news sites” as these often have an underlying motive: “promoting their holdings”. Many of these sites, says Gerard, “blatantly pay for play, and very few ever saw a press release with “blockchain” in it that they wouldn’t reprint.” How dare he?!
Crypto Treated no Differently
In truth, the standards applied to crypto-focused Wikipedia pages aren’t any different than the rules they apply for all other articles – everything needs a solid, reputable citation, and the fact is that there are too many people and ‘news’ outlets in the space who are only out for themselves.
Regardless of whether you agree with Gerard’s views on blockchain technology, we can all agree with him on one thing – we’re all “tired of the crypto spammers” too.
