Obituary Writers Fooled by Fake Quote on Wikipedia Page
by Krishna Andavolu
MAY 12, 2009 TAGS:
Is journalism dead? Have Google and Wikipedia killed hard-nosed, investigative, ink-on-your-fingers, shoe leather-eroding, microfilm-scrolling reporting. Maybe not yet. But some writers sure are getting lazy, especially those on the death beat.
When Maurice Jarre, the Oscar-winning French composer, died on March 29th, obituary writers around the world salivated when they came upon this quote, supposedly uttered by Jarre:
"My life has been one long soundtrack. Music was my life, music brought me to life. When I die there will be a final waltz playing in my head, that only I can hear."
Sound too good to be true? Too perfect of a nut quote, too pensive, too reflective? Well it was. Twenty-two year-old Irish college student, Shane Fitzgerald, entered this quote onto Jarre’s wikipedia page shortly after Jarre’s death. Despite the lack of a footnote or citation of any sort, obituary writers from Australia, India, England and U.S. used it in their obits.
Turns out Fitzgerald, who is studying sociology at the University of Dublin was conducting an experiment about globalization.
From The Guardian:
To what “quality papers” was Fitzgerald referring? Well, The Guardian, for one. Their obit writer book-ended their obit with that quote, essentially shrouding a substantial and thoughtful reflection on Jarre’s life and work with a stinking reminder of increasingly slackening standards.
By now corrections have been made on web pages around the world and Fitzgerald’s prank/experiment is but a grace note for an orchestra that’s going down with the ship.
The Guardian did own up to its mistake, unlike other papers. So credit is due to them. Anyone else willing to 'fess up?
--
From the Washington Post
From the AP (great picture of Fitzgerald)
Krishna Andavolu is managing editor of Obit.
When Maurice Jarre, the Oscar-winning French composer, died on March 29th, obituary writers around the world salivated when they came upon this quote, supposedly uttered by Jarre:
"My life has been one long soundtrack. Music was my life, music brought me to life. When I die there will be a final waltz playing in my head, that only I can hear."
Sound too good to be true? Too perfect of a nut quote, too pensive, too reflective? Well it was. Twenty-two year-old Irish college student, Shane Fitzgerald, entered this quote onto Jarre’s wikipedia page shortly after Jarre’s death. Despite the lack of a footnote or citation of any sort, obituary writers from Australia, India, England and U.S. used it in their obits.
Turns out Fitzgerald, who is studying sociology at the University of Dublin was conducting an experiment about globalization.
From The Guardian:
“Mr Fitzgerald said he was shocked by the result of his experiment. 'I didn't expect it to go that far. I expected it to be in blogs and sites, but on mainstream quality papers? I was very surprised about,' he said.”
To what “quality papers” was Fitzgerald referring? Well, The Guardian, for one. Their obit writer book-ended their obit with that quote, essentially shrouding a substantial and thoughtful reflection on Jarre’s life and work with a stinking reminder of increasingly slackening standards.
By now corrections have been made on web pages around the world and Fitzgerald’s prank/experiment is but a grace note for an orchestra that’s going down with the ship.
The Guardian did own up to its mistake, unlike other papers. So credit is due to them. Anyone else willing to 'fess up?
--
From the Washington Post
From the AP (great picture of Fitzgerald)
Krishna Andavolu is managing editor of Obit.
RELATED CONTENT
TO ADD A COMMENT, PLEASE FIRST SIGN IN OR REGISTER.
