False posting on Wikipedia reports Sinbad dead

By Steve Safran 

Expect a ton of those “Wikipedia is Satan” reports today. On the Wikipedia entry about Sinbad, the comedian, someone posted that he died of a heart attack. People saw the posting and the emails began flying. Sinbad’s daughter called him and he assured her he was, in fact, not dead. The comedian, well, reportedly found it kind of funny. Sinbad told an interviewer: “I wish that people would’ve called me back like this when I was alive. I gotta die more often. I’m writing a movie about this now… Seriously, my death is gonna be my comeback.” Newsrooms, note: The headlines today are along the lines of “Wikipedia reports Sinbad dead.” Wikipedia doesn’t report anything. It’s not a news organization, it’s a site where people freely post information. Treat it as such. Just like the rest of the web, there are jokers who post fake stuff. I feel a Colbert story coming on…

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