Fox News just reported the latest twist in the Chris Benoit homicide/suicide: That an anonymous user operating from a computer in Stamford, CT (home base for the WWE) posted an entry to Chris Benoit's Wikipedia biography announcing the death of Chris' wife Nancy some 13 hours before the authorities in Georgia found her body. http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_story/0,3566,287194,00.html
The posting reads: “Chris Benoit was replaced by [Johnny Nitro] for the ECW Championship match at Vengeance, as Benoit was not there due to personal issues, stemming from the death of his wife Nancy.”
At first brush it would sound like Chris posted to his own site: but he could not have since he was in Georgia and the post originated from a computer in Connecticut. It begs the question: Did Chris alert someone at the WWE earlier than what the WWE claims?
While this instance of Wiki sleuthing could possibly work against the folks at the WWE, who've already taken heat for memorializing the death of Chris during the early hours of this case, one person who's benefited from the site's open-use policies is beleaguered Tour de France winner-turned alleged doper Floyd Landis.
Landis invoked the "Wiki Defense," actually posting his entire defense online in the hopes that experts in the fields of chemistry, law, statistics, etc., would come to his side -- and they did. Prior to his Wiki Defense, Floyd was a guilty long before the world understood the difference between and A and B sample; now he seems to have genuine hope that his name will be cleared.
Online communities, and Wikipedia in particular, have come under fire repeatedly in newsrooms and classrooms alike, as these cyberspaces are more easily sourced than they are policed. It seems clear, however, that the time has come for even the naysayers to take note. While these sights may not be the perfect organ for reporting, they definitely can no longer be ignored.
UPDATE: Wikipedia user admits changing Benoit entry http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/06/29/wrestler.ap/index.html
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