Wikipedia

The use of Wikipedia is not an acceptable form of accurate media. However, it doesn't mean that it is not useful to people. Individuals use Wikipedia to find quick information that may or may not need to be previously accredited. After natural disasters occur, Wikipedia is an easy way to access facts about the devastating events. The only reason many do not consider Wikipedia to be reliable is because the web pages can be edited and updated by anybody that has access to the internet, which may sometimes contain incorrect information.

On the Wikipedia website for the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the contents are broken up into several parts: background, geology, damage to infrastructure, conditions in the aftermath and recovery. These categories help the reader have a better understanding and an easier way to access all parts of the event. In this particular article, the background shares information about the place of where the event occurred. The geology section includes information about the aftershocks of the earthquake and upcoming tsunami warnings. The damage to infrastructure section contains essential services and general infrastructure information. The conditions in the aftermath section generally talks about the days and nights following the earthquake. The recovery section lets the reader know what the president and congress wants to do to help recover the destructed land. Wikipedia also includes an introduction section at the top of the page where they state brief facts and basic information about the earthquake. It is usually very specific and contains information like where the event happened, why it happened and the exact date and time of when it happened. For example, they specifically state that the earthquake in Haiti happened on "Tuesday, 12 January 2010 at 16:53 local time."

When anybody has the ability to report what they want by the means of a website like Wikipedia, those statements should not be used as sources of credible news. Using Wikipedia as a source is usually not allowed as research in many schools because it is not reliable but it is very accommodating for those who are looking for basic, quick facts.