You’ve no doubt heard of Conservapedia, the website that bills itself as — for lack of a better term — the fair and balanced alternative to Wikipedia. The name Conservapedia should give you an indication of the kind of balance they offer.
We recently got wind of Conservapedia’s chuckle-inducing entry on the 2012 Summer Olympics, which gets going with a reference to Nazi Germany (this has now been deleted) in the very first paragraph, and then goes on to do absolutely nothing to redeem itself in the rest of the entry.
Through the lens of Conservapedia, much of the the Olympic games is political. For instance, Conservapedia asks if “feminist Title IX quotas” will harm the performance of the U.S. wrestling team. “Will countries that have implemented same-sex marriage underperform?” asks the site. Did you know that the U.S. women’s soccer team’s coach is a foreigner? Now you do, because Conservapedia felt that fact should be emphasized.
And British soccer legend David Beckham is also somehow a political issue. Conservapedia calls him an “Overrated Sports Star.” The writer must be a Liverpool fan.
But anyway, this got us wondering how Conservapedia’s entry stacks up against another strange document of the summer: the 2012 Texas Republican Party platform, which, among other things, takes a stand against critical thinking and declares separation of church and state is a “myth”
You can read about the Texas GOP platform here. The Conservapedia 2012 Summer Olympics entry can be found here.
Compare. Contrast. Vote in the poll below. And then tell us your reasoning behind your vote in the comments for this post.
Wow — both are pretty bizarre….. I can’t decide which is worse!
Wow! I didn’t think anything or anyone could top the Texas Republican Party platform, but this Olympic stuff was astounding! Where do these people come from and how do these thoughts permeate a sentient head?
Although I am acquainted with a number of the provisions of the Texas Republican Party Platform, I had not previously visited Conservapedia before, being aware that it’s purpose was to counter the supposed liberal bias of Wikipedia. Wikipedia is not foolproof, since it is open to editing by users, but is a useful compedium of information about a large variety of subjects.
Although this is the only Conservapedia entry I’ve read, it doesn’t seem to make any attempt to provide a history or overview of the Games, as might be expected if it is competing with Wikipedia, but rather seems to be simply a forum for opinion on a narrow range of Olympic activity. In addition, their references to atheistic countries was confusing since the reference preceded the list of countries so perceived.
The Texas Republican Party Platform is a collection of positions that various groups within the party want included so that their voices are heard. Although there are a number of very troubling positions, very few people will actually read it. On the other hand, Conservapedia might draw more viewings since it purports to be an encyclopedia of information. If it gives such limited information and doesn’t cover a broad range of topics, it may not be much competition for Wikipedia although it will certainly contribution to the spread of disinformation.
Neither document could be qualified as a force for enlightenment.
I see that Conservapedia has a “question evolution campaign” going. That’s all one needs to know to judge the credibility of the web site.
Hi guys. I’m on vacation. Wikipedia liberal? I never really thought about it, but it never seemed that way to me. It seemed like…well…an encyclopedia. Howwever, the whole notion of Conservapedia reminds me of the old Saturday Night Live skits from the 1970s that made fun of the local TV public affairs shows of that time. A typical intro line was something like:
And now Garrett Morris will provide us with the black perspective on the luna moth…
The point being…just how ridiculous can we get with this sort of nonsense.
And now, Charles will provide us with the liberal perspective bias ply tires…
How does one choose? They both appear to have been scribbled on the same Big Chief tablet with the same red crayon by the child sitting in the corner wearing the dunce cap.
Conservapedia realy has no effect on my life but the TxGOPers do. That was the only tiebreaker I could come up with.
The GOP platform has a plank against critical thinking skills training in public education. The result would seem to be things like this Conservapedia. So, what came first, the chicken or the egg?
While I think Conservapedia is more bizarre.. they aren’t an official platform of a state political party.