Wikideportations

It seems that Wikipedia entries are being used as evidence in legal cases involving asylum seekers. As the entries can be changed (and are changed), to dress up a tarnished national human rights record, this is a sad farce.

http://www.tribune.ie/news/article/2009/mar/01/civil-servants-told-to-stop-using-wikipedia-for-as/

People are entitled to a fair hearing.

Quote :

Investigators from the Refugee Applications Commissioner were basing some of their decisions on the online encyclopaedia, which is edited by the public and considered unreliable.

The Department of Justice has confirmed that members of the Commission and the Refugee Appeals Tribunal have been advised that Wikipedia should "not be used as a primary or reliable source" of information.

After a few recent howlers like the premature death notice for Senator Ted Kennedy, Wikipedia is said to be reviewing its open door policy. Should Wikipedia carry a much much bigger mental health warning ?

Does it not already carry a huge one? We failed essays when I was in College if we cited it as a source and one tutor even went to the extent of editing an entry putting an inacuracy into it to see who had been using it!!

Wikipedia is getting used in court by lawyers to defend cases ?

Mad stuff if it is but maybe there's a case where it could be used ?

Boards.ie is also a good source of info at times.