Wikipedia vs WikiLeaks
Wikipedia and WikiLeaks are two online sources of knowledge that show some interesting difference between them when it comes to their owners, objectives, slogans, and the like. Though they have their differences, they are certainly two of the popular websites in the world. If we search for some topic in the internet, most of the time, the page that comes first in the search result page is a Wikipedia page. That is because Wikipedia covers all sorts of subjects with adequate information for most part. While Wikipedia distributes knowledge in a general capacity, WikiLeaks offer information of a controversial nature. They provide information that the governments like to keep a secret.
What is Wikipedia?
The Wikipedia is owned by Wikimedia Foundation. The Wikipedia was founded by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger in 2001. The URL of Wikipedia is www.wikipedia.org. Wikipedia publishes serious topics on diverse subjects. As at now, that is in early 2015, you can find 4, 733, 235 million articles in English Wikipedia. There is an article on almost every topic under the sun in Wikipedia. The point of view of Wikipedia is neutral. It does not support one idea more than the other. Moreover, the objective of Wikipedia is to inform people of public knowledge. It is designed in such a way that anybody can edit the matter available in the online encyclopedia with an intention to add or amend the information.
When it comes to the slogan, the slogan of Wikipedia is ‘the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.’ It is true. That means anyone who has some qualification or not can edit an article in Wikipedia. That is why though it offers general knowledge about various topics, using information gathered from Wikipedia is not accepted in the academic world. In academic point of view, it is considered as an unreliable source of information. On the other hand, the content in Wikipedia is licensed under the GFDL and Creative Commons licenses.
What is WikiLeaks?
WikiLeaks is owned by the Sunshine Press. The WikiLeaks was founded by Julian Assange in December 2006. The URL of WikiLeaks is www.wikileaks.org. WikiLeaks, unlike Wikipedia, publishes matters related to politics, business, and whistle blowing only. The point of view of WikiLeaks is anti-war. The objective of WikiLeaks is to inform people of secrets that governments hide. Sometimes, this even includes the secrets that large businesses hide as well.
When it comes to the slogan, the slogan of WikiLeaks is ‘we open governments.’You can find hundreds of thousands of documents on WikiLeaks. WikiLeaks is not authorized to license the variety of information it publishes on it.
What is the difference between Wikipedia and WikiLeaks?
• Wikipedia publishes serious topics on diverse subjects. WikeLeaks, on the other hand, publishes matters related to politics, business, and whistle blowing only.
• The point of view of WikiLeaks is anti-war, whereas the point of view of Wikipedia is neutral.
• The objective of WikiLeaks is to inform people of secrets that governments hide. Sometimes, this even includes the secrets that large businesses hide as well. On the other hand, the objective of Wikipedia is to inform people of public knowledge. This is the main difference between the two online resources.
• The two online sources also differ in their slogans. The slogan of WikiLeaks is ‘we open governments’, whereas the slogan of Wikipedia is ‘the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit’.
• Unlike WikiLeaks, Wikipedia is designed in such a way that anybody can edit the matter available in the online encyclopedia with an intention to add or amend the information.
• The amount of informaton available in the Wikipedia is huge compared to WikiLeaks. By early 2015, English Wikipedia has 4, 733, 235 million articles. On the other hand, you can find hundreds of thousands of documents on WikiLeaks.
• WikiLeaks is not authorized to license the variety of information it publishes on it, whereas the content in Wikipedia is licensed under the GFDL and Creative Commons licenses.
• While the WikiLeaks is owned by the Sunshine Press, the Wikipedia is owned by Wikimedia Foundation.
• WikiLeaks was founded in December 2006, whereas Wikipedia was founded in 2001.
• The WikiLeaks was created by Julian Assange. On the other hand, the Wikipedia was created by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger.
• The URL of WikiLeaks is www.wikileaks.org, whereas the URL of Wikipedia is www.wikipedia.org.
These are the differences between the two online sources of knowledge, namely, Wikipedia and WikiLeaks.
Images Courtesy:
- The third Wikipedia logo, with a caption in Hoefler Text Small caps by Michczu (CC BY-SA 3.0)
- WikiLeaks logo by Wikileaks (CC BY-SA 3.0)
