There are some misunderstandings about WikiLeaks and Wikipedia. This article discusses the distinguishing characteristics of both names and upholds them. Between Wikileaks and Wikipedia, there is no underlying relationship. Wiki is an umbrella term that describes the quickness (in Hawaii), creation, updating, and editing of a website or information by a large number of people, and free access. The wiki was first introduced in 1995 by Ward Cunningham when he developed the software WikiWikiWeb.
Key Takeaways
- WikiLeaks publishes classified and leaked information, while Wikipedia is an online encyclopedia with user-generated content.
- WikiLeaks is a controversial platform focusing on government and corporate transparency, while Wikipedia aims to provide unbiased, well-sourced information.
- Wikipedia relies on a community of volunteer editors, while WikiLeaks operates as an organization with a smaller core team.
Wikileaks vs Wikipedia
WikiLeaks is a non-profit organization that publishes confidential information and news leaks from anonymous sources. It was founded in 2006 by Julian Assange and a group of activists. Wikipedia is a free online encyclopedia launched in 2001 by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger that anyone can edit.
Wikileaks is a website that publishes highly classified information or historical records. The site is well-known for disclosing public corruption and classified information. Its authors, whether journalists or researchers, are kept anonymous. Wikileaks, unlike Wikipedia, does not allow you to edit any of the information on its website, which is also referred to as a wiki.
On the other hand, Wikipedia is a resource for information on a wide range of subjects. On the website, over a million articles have been published. It is a Wikimedia Foundation-supported open-source encyclopedia. People can edit information on websites that are governed and updated by mentors for a comprehensive information source, and it is based on facts and information.
Comparison Table
| Parameters of comparison | Wikileaks | Wikipedia |
|---|---|---|
| Introduced by | Julian Assange | Jimmy Wales, Larry Sanger |
| Website link | wikieaks.org | www.wikipedia.org |
| Is it a wiki? | Not really, one can not edit information. | Yes, you can edit information. |
| Significance | Anti-war, confidential documents | It delivers facts and information. |
| Owner | The Sunshine Press | Wikimedia Foundation |
What are Wikileaks?
Wikileaks is a website where people can submit confidential articles about government, war, and information. Any rumour or fake news and any articles published on other websites will be rejected. The writers and journalists who provide the information are kept anonymous. Wikileaks’ goal is to promote transparency and open government.
Australian activist Julian Assange led or founded the organization in 2006. People may mix WikiLeaks and Wikipedia, so this article aims to clear up any confusion. There is no connection between the two; the former is a library with over 100,000 articles, while the latter is an encyclopedia with millions of articles.
Information on the site cannot be changed. Sunshine Press is the company that owns them. They have over a thousand active members in their community. They describe themselves as nonprofit organizations. According to their motivation, they have revealed sensitive information, such as the manual details of interrogation techniques used by the army in Guantanamo Bay in 2006. They then published 251,287 confidential texts from an anonymous source in November 2010. In 2016, they made a remarkable disclosure about emails from the Democratic National Committee. So, as their name suggests, WikiLeaks releases confidential documents to the public with good intentions.
What is Wikipedia?
Wikipedia is a hybrid of a wiki and an encyclopedia. As previously stated, a wiki allows users to edit information on a website. And an encyclopedia is a resource that provides a wealth of information, facts, history, and knowledge on a variety of topics. Larry Sanger and Jimmy Wales founded Wikipedia on January 15th, 2001. The Wikimedia Foundation funds and owns it.
Anyone with access to the Wikipedia website can edit the facts and information contained therein. This calls into question the site’s trustworthiness. Although there are administrators who oversee the situation, it is impossible to judge each piece of information. So there’s an interesting fact about Wikipedia. Otherwise, it plays a significant role in the introduction of a new topic.
Wikipedia has over 54 million articles on various subjects. Not only that, but the articles are available in more than one language; there are 300 languages in which the articles can be read. The website’s address is www.wikipedia.org.
According to 2020 statistics, it is one of the most visited sites, with over 1.5 billion people citing it. The website contains a wealth of information. There are also reference links if you want to do more research on a particular topic.
Main Differences Between Wikileaks and Wikipedia
- Julian Assange founded Wikileaks, while Larry Sanger and Jimmy Wales founded Wikipedia.
- The WikiLeaks website can be found at www.wikileaks.org, and the Wikipedia site can be found at www.wikipedia.org.
- Wikileaks has stated that a wiki is not a wiki because you cannot edit any information, whereas Wikipedia is a wiki in which you can edit information.
- Wikileaks stands for anti-war, classified documents, while Wikipedia stands for facts and information.
- The Sunshine Press owns Wikileaks, while the Wikimedia Foundation owns Wikipedia.
- https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2075015
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0957417416301804
Last Updated : 11 June, 2023
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Sandeep Bhandari holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Computers from Thapar University (2006). He has 20 years of experience in the technology field. He has a keen interest in various technical fields, including database systems, computer networks, and programming. You can read more about him on his bio page.
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