Jar'Edo Wens hoax

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The English-language Wikipedia , founded on January 15, 2001, is (as of 2019) the most comprehensive language version of the online encyclopedia Wikipedia .

The Jar'Edo-Wens-Hoax concerns a former lemma in the English language Wikipedia , which was recognized as a suspected hoax in November 2014 and deleted in March 2015. Up until then, the article on an Australian Aboriginal deity had been in the online encyclopedia for almost 10 years, making it the longest-lived Wikipedia fake known to date (March 2015).

Origin of the lemma

On May 29, 2005 an anonymous user (Australian IP address ) added an article on Australian Aboriginal mythology about a deity: "Jar'Edo Wens". A few minutes later, the same user created a lemma with a short text about the deity who, standing for strength and wisdom, should watch over people not to become too arrogant. It is believed that the name of the user was Jared Owens and that he used his name to designate the deity using an arbitrary word mark . In the aftermath of the articles by other authors and is bots according to Wikipedia-standard formats, classified with tags provided.

The same anonymous author had at the same time added another deity with the name “Yohrmum” to the list of mythology mentioned. This name, which is obviously derived from “Your mum” (your mother), was recognized as incorrect after a few months and was deleted.

Takeover of the hoax

The entry “Jar'Edo Wens” was adopted unchecked in several other Wikimedia projects. The French , Polish , Russian and Turkish-language Wikipedia adopted the entry in their articles on the mythology of the Aborigines; "Yohrmum" was also mentioned in two language versions. In the French-language Wikipedia, "Jar'Edo Wens" was adopted with its own lemma. An entry was also made on Wikidata .

Matthew S. McCormick , professor of philosophy at California State University, Sacramento , published his own, expanded list of 500 “Gods and Religions in History” based on the list of the satirist Henry L. Mencken in 2012 in his book Atheism and the case against Christ who have fallen out of favor ”, including“ Jar'Edo Wens ”.

Exposure of the hoax

In 2009 the English article “Jar'Edo Wens” was classified as “multiple issues” due to a lack of sources . On November 27, 2014, the article was flagged as a possible hoax by an anonymous user and proposed for deletion on March 1, 2015. An administrator finally deleted the lemma on March 3, 2015.

Wikipediocracy , a website that takes a critical look at the quality of Wikipedia, published an article on the hoax on March 15, 2015.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Washington Post, April 15, 2015: The story behind Jar'Edo Wens, the longest-running hoax in Wikipedia history
  2. ↑ a b Unmasked as a hoax: False deity fooled Wikipedia users for years , March 25, 2015, Krone.at
  3. ↑ Original text of the lemma: In Australian Aboriginal mythology, Jar'Edo Wens is a god of earthly information and physical might, designed by Altjira to oversee that the people did not get as well big-headed, linked with victory and intelligence.
  4. ↑ How One Man Made Himself Into an Aboriginal God With Wikipedia , March 19, 2015, asiaeu.com ; based on an article in: gawker.com . In English
  5. ↑ a b Peter Bodkin, Wikipedia's longest-lived hoax has finally been outed , March 23, 2015, TheJournal.ie , at: Yahoo News UK & Ireland. In English
  6. ↑ In the original: gods and religions in history that have fallen out of favor
  7. ^ Matthew S. McCormick: Atheism and the case against Christ . Prometheus Books, September 25, 2012, ISBN 978-1-61614-582-8 , p. 146.
  8. ↑ Stephen Hutcheon, Aussie's Jar'Edo Wens prank sets new record as Wikipedia's longest-running hoax , March 23, 2013, The Sydney Morning Herald . In English