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Saskatchewan politics: A Wikipedia wonderland?
Every day, millions of people looking for basic information — whether it's tin production in Bolivia or the latest tabloid news about Britney Spears — turn to Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia.
The sprawling, wildly popular website, one of the top 10 most heavily trafficked sites in Canada, contains a variety of articles about Saskatchewan politics.
Not surprisingly, as a provincial election draws near, changes are brewing in Saskatchewan's corner of the site.
That's because Wikipedia is an "open source" encyclopedia and pretty well anyone can write and edit the articles.
Practically speaking, that means friends of a particular politician or party can go in and make changes to articles to their heart's content.
Their opponents can go into the same articles, undo the changes and, while they're at it, add some new twists of their own.
In an echo of George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, history is constantly being revised in Wikipedia.
The difference between Wikipedia and Orwell's dystopia is that it's easy for the average person to access the history of the article and see what changes were made.
Take how the site deals with the Saskatchewan Party. At one time in the past few months, Wikipedia described the Opposition as a "right-wing" party.
Someone didn't like that and changed it to "ultra-right-wing" party.
Still later, it had changed to "centre-right" party.
Wikipedia's entry on Saskatchewan Party Leader Brad Wall makes no mention of Brenda Bakken Lackey, the former MLA for the riding of Weyburn-Big Muddy who left politics last year.
However, an earlier version of the article did, repeating suggestions that Bakken Lackey might have been unhappy with Wall's leadership.
That was snipped by an editor who added a statement that Wall received 98 per cent support at a party convention.
Elsewhere, a Wikipedia article about Premier Lorne Calvert from earlier this year noted that the NDP has lost two byelections in a row.
The current article? Snip, snip.
The editors get pretty snippy themselves when they see what others do to their work.
"Stop vandalizing," editor No. 1 said in a note.
"It's not vandalism, it´s sourced," editor No. 2 replied.
It opens up a new front in the battle for the hearts and minds of Saskatchewan voters, with the prospect of partisans cutting and adding throughout the campaign.
All this activity doesn't mean Wikipedia is wrong about everything. On the contrary, many basic facts in Wikipedia's Saskatchewan political articles are indisputably correct and up to date.
Brad Wall is the MLA for Swift Current. The election that made Roy Romanow premier was held on Oct. 21, 1991. There are 58 seats in the legislature. Wikipedia nails facts like those.
But is it really true that the Saskatchewan Democratic Action Party, an organization that has no seats and didn't exist until a few weeks ago, has more popular support than the NDP or the Saskatchewan Party?
That's what the main Wikipedia article on Saskatchewan politics says, following a mention of the NDP and Saskatchewan Party.
"Recently, the Saskatchewan Democratic Action Party has been exceeding voting strength of the two parties mentioned above," the article says. "This has led many to speculate that the end is near for the SaskParty and the NDP."
At least, that's what it said earlier in September. By now, it might have changed to say some other party is taking Saskatchewan by storm.
The SDAP also gets a glowing mention in the Wikipedia entry on the upcoming Saskatchewan election.
"Today, the Saskatchewan Democratic Action Party has become the most energetic political voice in Saskatchewan," it says.
What does this mean for average voters hoping to bone up on the candidates and their policies before marking their ballots?
The answer is that Wikipedia tends to be a reliable font of information when the subject is cold, hard facts that can be cross-checked with other sources.
It gets the basics wrong sometimes, too. Lorne Calvert was born in 1952, not 1954, as Wikipedia was reporting last week.
The bottom line? Wikipedia has a lot to offer in the marketplace of ideas, but in the Saskatchewan politics section, it’s a buyer beware situation.
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More Saskatchewan Votes Headlines »
- Saskatchewan Party wins majority government
- Only 10 years into its existence as a political force, the Saskatchewan Party will form a majority government and its leader Brad Wall will be the new premier.
- NDP had a 'good run in government'
- A desire for change pushed the NDP out of 16 years of rule in Saskatchewan, but leader Lorne Calvert said the party has no regrets.
- Liberals fail again to elect single MLA
- The third time was not a charm for Liberal Leader David Karwacki, as voters in Saskatoon Meewasin rebuffed his efforts for elected office.
- Shift in urban vote handed seats to Sask. Party
- The seeds of victory were sown in Regina and Saskatoon, where the Saskatchewan Party picked up five seats — but there were gains in other urban areas, too, that helped seal the election win.
- NDP holds on in Regina, but loses 3 seats
- Fortress Regina continued to stand for the NDP when the dust of Wednesday's election had settled, though its foundation was shaken by a trio of Saskatchewan Party wins.
