Working Paper: NBER ID: w18167
Authors: Shane Greenstein; Feng Zhu
Abstract: We examine whether collective intelligence helps achieve a neutral point of view using data from a decade of Wikipedia's articles on US politics. Our null hypothesis builds on Linus' Law, often expressed as "Given enough eyeballs, all bugs are shallow." Our findings are consistent with a narrow interpretation of Linus' Law, namely, a greater number of contributors to an article makes an article more neutral. No evidence supports a broad interpretation of Linus' Law. Moreover, several empirical facts suggest the law does not shape many articles. The majority of articles receive little attention, and most articles change only mildly from their initial slant.
Keywords: Collective Intelligence; Wikipedia; Neutral Point of View; US Politics
JEL Codes: L17; L3; L86
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| increase in the number of contributors (O36) | decrease in political slant (D72) |
| increase in the number of contributors (O36) | closer alignment to neutral point of view (NPOV) (Y50) |
| more diverse set of contributors (O36) | decrease in political slant (D72) |