Sunday, July 06, 2008

Conservapedia: I can make up quotes, too!

One user of online encyclopedia remarked, "Conservapedia is the laughing stock of the online community. I'd think it was satire if I didn't know they honestly believed what they write." In related news, Conservapedia conjures up a quote unrelated to an article they link regarding academic honesty.

Say what?

From Conservapedia's main page, "A new website encourages students to post college exams, but some professors object. One former student declares, 'The only people who will find this website to be a threat are those lazy tenured sloths that like to recycle old material on their exams.'"

The story is a Union-Tribune one about a website called "PostYourTest.com." This site allows students to post returned tests, and the answers, so that others can use them for study aids. The site is free to use, supported by advertisements on the site.

Yet the linked article has nothing near the quote listed. So where did it come from? The only negative quote regarding professors rehashing tests is from another teacher, and it's not derogatory, unlike the quote Conservapedia uses.

So it could be one of three things. A comment left on the article online that was removed earlier or one that came from elsewhere and unidentified; a personal opinion of the person who submitted or posted the link itself and wanted not to be identified; or Conservapedia just made it up.

In any of these, the failure to note the origin of the quote when linking to news, on "The Trustworthy Encyclopedia," makes it dishonest.

But to those who despise colleges and universities who aren't Christian degree mills, it isn't surprising that they would inject their personal views regarding higher education. I just won't be holding my breath for them to come clean on yet another falsehood.

2 Comments:

At 2:10 PM, Blogger Jay McHue said...

I bet you didn't know Wikipedia had a phony quote supposedly from IDer Phillip Johnson on at least 3 articles for over 3 years. This alleged phony quote on Conservapedia has been on the site for less than a day. Perhaps you should give them time to reference or delete the quote instead of being so petty.

 
At 10:42 AM, Blogger Christopher said...

One would think so, except . . .

It was posted on the news page? And it's a very short posting? It's hard to miss it.

Even when I saw it, without reading the article, I thought it suspect that such a quote would be in any decent newspaper's article. And when I went to the article itself, wouldn't you know it, not there.

Good little lap dog for trying to defend a site that is so often wrong, with such little content.

 

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