Is Wikipedia stealing the news?

While the influence of Facebook and Google on the news landscape has been well examined, Wikipedia's role as a source of breaking news has not received enough attention, says a University of Sydney expert. Dr Bunty Avieson  from the University's  Department of Media and Communications  has examined Wikipedia as a breaking news source, in a new research paper published today in prestigious internet studies journal  First Monday . "When a major global news event occurs, such as the Easter bombings in Sri Lanka or the Christchurch shootings, Wikipedia contributors from around the world come together in a virtual 'newsroom' to craft a narrative, followed closely by readers seeking the latest information," she said. Her research found in any given month, the site's most popular articles - both in number of views and number of edits - are those that report breaking news. Using the case study of  a Wikipedia entry about the 2014 Sydney hostage crisis  - also known as the Lindt Cafe siege - Dr Avieson analysed Wikipedia's breaking news practice. "Less than two hours after Man Haron Monis locked the doors on the Lindt Café, a Wikipedia contributor in the Phillippines started a page, based on what she was seeing on BBC News," Dr Avieson said. "Over the next few hours she was joined by contributors from Australia, Sweden (where it was 3am), the US (Chicago, Ohio, Alaska, Utah and Hawaii), plus Canada, Pakistan, Finland, Ireland, France, Canada, Egypt, Iraq and Ukraine.