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About this quote

What does it mean?
The user claims that Wikipedia is fundamentally flawed.
In plain terms
Wikipedia is full of errors.
What can you take from it?
Check information against multiple sources.

Where it applies

  • research projects
  • fact-checking

Putting it to work

  • cross‑verify facts
  • use primary sources

Questions to consider

  • When is Wikipedia trustworthy?
  • What alternatives exist?

Another view

Wikipedia can be accurate for many topics despite its openness.

More from Gore Vidal

  1. You hear all this whining going on, 'Where are our great writers?' The thing I might feel doleful about is: Where are the readers?

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  2. My general response to boarding school was: anything to get away from that fucking mother of mine. She was a monster.

    Permalink to quote #61

  3. There was more of a flow to my output of writing in the past, certainly. Having no contemporaries left means you cannot say, 'Well, so-and-so will like this,' …

    Permalink to quote #58

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