The science advisers who steered Great Britain along its lockdown path in spring 2020 when the coronavirus pandemic began relied on Wikipedia to make their predictions on when the disease’s peak would hit, and to make policy decisions for the country.
Wikipedia is an online encyclopedia that can be written, edited and managed by anyone, regardless of their qualifications or expertise. Britain’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) admitted that they had relied on “terrifying” modeling information they found in Wikipedia to formulate their pandemic plans.
In an interview with MailOnline, MP Steve Baker said he was appalled that this was the so-called “science” SAGE had relied on — information that was off not only in numbers but in timing by at least two months. “The public deserve better than this,” Baker said. “We cannot go on with public policy based on models that clearly didn’t reflect reality.”
An Oxford University scientist also criticized SAGE, saying that “using Wikipedia to guide Britain through the crisis was 'absolutely unacceptable,' and that it was a 'damning reflection of our lack of preparedness.’”
SOURCE: Daily Mail November 18, 2020