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Wikipedia plagued by a "Basket of Deception"

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What is hopefully the real logo of the East Timor Football Federation

At Vocativ, Jack Kerr writes "Meet Wikipedia's Soccer Scammers", the latest in a series of articles on various websites he's written about Wikipedia and southeast Asian football. Kerr writes that players from South American countries, primarily Brazil, are obtaining citizenship from East Timor and using that as a way to avoid limits on the number of foreign players in Asian football teams. Kerr notes that information on these players is hard to come by for teams: "In a region where few countries even share the same alphabet, accurate soccer data can be hard to find. Even clubs—which are frequently under-resourced—sometimes have to turn to Wikipedia to find out more about potential signees". Naturally, Wikipedia is an irresistible target for resume inflation, backed up by fraudulent blogs and sockpuppet accounts. Over the years, a number of sockpuppet investigations have resulted in the blocks of numerous accounts. Some of that fake information has made its way into usually reputable sources, such as the Opta Sports database, which was found to contain a fake team logo posted on Wikipedia. (Dec. 25)

Braemar Castle



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