Truth in Numbers?

Truth in Numbers? Everything, According to Wikipedia, an American documentary film, explores the history and cultural implications of Wikipedia. The film presents Wikipedia as a new form of communication and cultural dialog. The directors attempt to answer the question of whether ordinary individuals should be tasked with collecting knowledge for presentation online, or this should be relegated solely to academic scholars in specific fields. Wales is shown discussing Wikipedia with an Indian reader, who points out an inaccuracy in an article. Journalism and media commentators who appear and are interviewed in the film include author Howard Zinn; Len Downie, (executive editor of The Washington Post); Bob Schieffer (CBS News); Robert McHenry (former chief of Encyclopædia Britannica); R. James Woolsey Jr. (former director of the Central Intelligence Agency); Chris Wilson (reporter for Slate Magazine); and Noam Chomsky. The film documents an initiative in India and Africa called "Wikipedia Academies". Controversies discussed in the film include the Essjay controversy, where a member of Wikipedia made false assertions about his academic background; Musician KRS-One comments about the site after reading his biography on Wikipedia: "I can say to you, these are the facts but they are not true." ==Production==

Conception (February 2007) The idea for the film originated from a suggestion by Michael Ferris Gibson, who had made the 2005 documentary 24 Hours on Craigslist. Gibson, a producer on the film, met with co-director Nic Hill. Regarding his financing strategy, Gibson commented to the San Francisco Chronicle, that smaller incremental donations from multiple individuals showed genuine interest in his initiative. After Glosserman signed on, the breadth of the endeavor became larger. ==Release==

and Scott Glosserman with Jimmy Wales in Gdańsk, July 10, 2010 (July 2010) The release for the film was originally planned for 2007, then 2008 and 2009, before its 2010 release. Clips of the film were shown at Wikimania 2007 in Taipei prior to its completion. Editors in the audience had mixed views on the film. The film had its premiere at Wikimania 2010 in Gdańsk in July 2010, before an audience of approximately 300 people. A trailer for the movie was released in October 2010. The film was screened at the Paley Center for Media in New York City on October 20, 2010. It was shown in conjunction with the Robert M. Batscha University Seminar Series. The panel discussion was moderated by The New York Times journalist Noam Cohen, and featured both co-directors, in addition to Wikimedia Foundation representative Samuel Klein and Wikipedian in Residence at the British Museum Liam Wyatt. The film was screened at the Savannah Film Festival on November 3, 2010, at Savannah College of Art and Design's Trustees Theater. It was scheduled for a limited theatrical release in the United States on November 30, 2010. ==Reception==

Wales wrote favorably about the film in 2007 during its production, and noted, "Director Nic Hill is making what looks to be a fabulous film about Wikipedia and Wikipedians worldwide." However, Wales commented negatively about the delayed release, in a statement to PRNewser. He said the movie was dated due to its delay. Larry Sanger commented he thought the film was, "Not too bad, from what I saw." Wikimedia Foundation board member Samuel Klein commented, "In general, I like the film a lot more after seeing it for the second time, in a very different audience (and seeing their live reactions)." Sage Ross, an attendee of Wikimania 2010, commented that the film appears to take a mainly negative point of view towards Wikipedia, "The film gives a lot of focus to some shallow or misleading lines of criticism, and on an intellectual level, it comes off as largely anti-Wikipedia, contrasting the reasonable-sounding arguments of mature critics with the naive optimism of youthful Wikipedians." characterizing it as, "A great film about the Wikipedia movement." D'Addario commented, "the film raises interesting questions about authority, only somewhat intentionally." He noted the dated bits observing, "Truth in Numbers? may well be coming too late." D'Addario concluded his assessment by noting that at the time of his review, the Wikipedia article for the film was under threat of being deleted: "According to the site, the entry for Truth in Numbers? is being considered for deletion – it links to few other articles on the site, and is an 'orphan.' Given the tenor of Truth in Numbers?, which combines avid interest in Wikipedia with wide-eyed dismay at much of its particulars, this is either very surprising or not surprising at all." Serrano commented on the presentation of Jimmy Wales during the film, "In the end, I came out of the theater thinking of him as a three-dimensional figure, very much a man with passion but neither completely good or evil. To be honest, this is very important in a film like this and is a definite plus for the movie." Serrano recommended the documentary, and concluded, "This is definitely a solid film. ... This film is definitely worth a viewing. It’s interesting, well made, and presents varied perspectives on Wikipedia that help the narrative stay interesting." ==See also==