A new feature on user-edited online encyclopedia Wikipedia will allow users to colour-code different pieces of text that have been declared untrustworthy based on their author and length of time on the page.
The site has been criticised by users for unreliability because any person can edit articles anonymously.
But the new feature, designed by researchers from the Wiki Lap at the University of California, is designed to rid the site of that criticism by using an algorithm to determine the reliability of text.
The algorithm calculates the author’s reputation based on the lifespan of their previous contributions. The longer their text has remained on a previous page, the algorithm assumes that text is more likely to be correct.
Orange will be used to highlight unreliable text, with more reliable text given a lighter shade. Text earns “trust” over time, and moves from orange to white.
Patrick Stafford is a freelance journalist and a former deputy editor of SmartCompany.
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