Wikipedia, the interactive online encyclopedia, continues to astound. Not only did the site recently log its one millionth entry — the Encyclopedia Brittanica, by contrast, has about an eighth that number — but it has also proved remarkably responsive to current events. According to an article in this week’s New Yorker magazine, the Wikipedia entry on the “2006 Israel-Lebanon Conflict” went up just six hours after the conflict came into existence. The entry today is more than 9,000 words long and carries more than 200 footnotes. But as the New Yorker points out, the site, however lofty its goals, is not immune to human nature. Case in point: The entry on the Israel-Lebanon conflict last week was graced with a picture of the Death Star from “Star Wars.” The caption below it: “An IDF K-5 laser cannon fires into Southern Lebanon.” Whether due to “the Force” or the force of the online community’s sense of scholarly rigor is unclear, but no sooner had the image gone up than it had disappeared.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

2X match on all Passover gifts!

$90 → $180 $180 → $360

$360 → $720

Other amount