In 15th year, Wikipedia is a battleground for observers of Israeli-Arab conflict
For observers of the Middle East, Wikipedia is apparently a go-to site for anyone trying to keep up with current events.
By JPOST.COM STAFFAn Israeli armored personnel carrier team shows a Hezbollah and Lebanese flag as they return from fighting near the Israeli village of Avivim, July 25, 2006(photo credit: REUTERS)
Wikipedia, the online nonprofit and user-edited encyclopedia, will celebrate the 15th anniversary of its founding on Saturday.An indispensable resource for anyone who spends a considerable amount of time on the Internet, Wikipedia is unique in that it allows the audience to edit content while subsisting entirely on donations from users.For observers of the Middle East, Wikipedia is apparently a go-to site for anyone trying to keep up with current events.According to the ESPN-affiliated statistical site FiveThirtyEight, Wikipedia entries about the Middle East are some of the most edited pages.The web site cited figures provided to it by the Wikimedia Foundation, which tracked the number of times its pages were edited during the course of a year.In 2006, for instance, the most edited entry on Wikipedia was the 2006 Lebanon War. In 2009, the page that was most edited was Gaza War (2008-09). The next year, the Gaza flotilla raid was the second-most altered page.In 2011 and 2012, stories about the Arab Spring, including the civil wars in Libya and Syria as well as the tumult in Egypt, were the most edited.Of all Middle Eastern conflicts and Israeli-Arab wars, the 2006 Lebanon war remains the most edited Wikipedia entry.
