Factually! with Adam Conover Exploring the Depths of Wikipedia with Annie Rauwerda
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Dec 17, 2025 Annie Rauwerda, a Wikipedia editor and creator of the Depths of Wikipedia, dives into the fascinating world of this online encyclopedia. She discusses how Wikipedia's collaborative spirit creates a unique sense of truth in today's information age. Annie explains the community's complex rules for navigation and conflict resolution, revealing the motivations behind volunteer contributions. She also highlights the platform's reliance on journalism and the challenges it faces from political scrutiny and digital threats, showcasing how it remains a vital source of information.
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Wikipedia's Exceptional Reliability
- Wikipedia stands out as one of the few places still providing generally reliable human-created information on the internet.
- Its volunteer-built nature and broad scope make it unusually resilient against misinformation.
How Depths Of Wikipedia Began
- Annie started Depths of Wikipedia by posting unusual articles on Instagram and expanded to other platforms and live shows.
- She originally came for quirky lists like sexually active popes and missing moon rocks and stayed for the community behind them.
Collaboration Creates Scope And Trust
- Wikipedia's strength comes from real people collaborating, arguing, and reaching shared reality via talk pages and norms.
- That messy human process produces scope and entries (even trivial ones) that academic encyclopedias often don't cover.