It’s the eve of the 2024 US election. Tens of millions of votes have already been cast, with many more to come today. And thanks to the efforts of nearly 200 participants in our election courses throughout the past year, voters who use Wikipedia to learn more about their options in this election – and those who rely on one of the many digital assistants or AI search tools that draw from Wikipedia – have more information to make their decisions.
Wiki Scholars courses like Elections and Campaigning in the United States, Women and Politics in the US, and State Politics and Policy have brought together subject matter experts to learn to edit Wikipedia, tackling misinformation and filling in the content gaps on election-related content.
Course participants improved the encyclopedia’s coverage of electoral processes, proposed local laws, US political parties, voting behavior and participation, candidates for office, and other topics related to the election, making an incredible impact on the public’s understanding of these topics. Their work on Wikipedia has been viewed nearly 28 million times!
For Libby Newman, associate professor and chair of the Department of Government, Politics and Law at Rider University, the professional development course also offered an opportunity to better understand the editing process on Wikipedia.
“I came away with much more confidence in Wikipedia as a source, and I feel empowered to add content myself now, too,” said Newman.
From candidate biographies and historical events to voter access and voting behavior, participants contributed to a diverse range of topics to create new, neutral content to help inform voting decisions.
Particularly interested in voter access, one participant created several new Wikipedia articles including Homeless vote in United States, United States non-resident eligible voters, and Pitt v. Black, a 1984 legal case that established that Americans living in non-conventional accommodations cannot be refused the right to register to vote.
“My community service with homeless people sparked the interest in creating an article about the homeless vote in the United States, which consequently led to the creation of the Pitts v. Black article, a landmark case that allowed Americans to cast their ballot even if they reside on a park bench,” explained the participant.
This editor also enhanced articles like Voter registration in the United States, Absentee ballot, and Election law, adding more than 50 new references and nearly 4,000 words through their work on Wikipedia.
Without a doubt, Wikipedia’s role as a neutral and high-quality public knowledge source is more critical than ever during election years, providing nonpartisan information to voters as they wade through the never-ending landscape of bias and misinformation online. As course participant Dale McGowan of the Center for Election Innovation & Research shared with us, the heart of Wikipedia is democracy – the democratization of knowledge for all.
Interested in learning more about our election courses and the subject matter experts who participated? Explore their stories:
- Scholar, writer joins efforts to democratize knowledge on Wikipedia
- Connecting the past and present: Political scientist brings expertise to Wikipedia during election year
Want to learn how to add your own expertise to Wikipedia? Explore Wiki Education’s upcoming courses for subject-area experts.
Looking to empower your students by incorporating a Wikipedia assignment into your course? Visit teach.wikiedu.org to learn more about the free resources, digital tools, and staff support that Wiki Education offers to postsecondary instructors in the United States and Canada. Apply by December 1, 2024 for priority consideration for spring 2025.
