"Anybody who edits this page to reflect the 'fact' that 'the population of elephants has tripled' is a tool. In short order, the entry for "elephant" was locked to prevent vandalism, and discussion of the prank quickly spilled over into the entry's "talk" page, where it inspired comments like this one. Though the suggestion was obviously humorous, that didn't stop the Colbert Nation from descending upon Wikipedia. Such an entry would be an "inconvenient tusk" for Al Gore and other environmentalists. Colbert referred to the process as "bringing democracy to knowledge" and suggested that his viewers head off to the Wikipedia entry for "elephant" in order to update it with the "fact" that Africa's elephant population has swollen in the last few years. Last night, Stephen Colbert aired a segment on Wikipedia in which he discussed "wikiality," the process of creating the reality one wants to believe in. Unfortunately for Wikipedia, both pieces took aim at the site's level of (in)accuracy. If you needed any further proof that Wikipedia has "arrived," it came this week as both The Onion and The Colbert Report satirized the online encyclopedia.
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