The Danish Twittersphere has been ignited in massive discussion using the tag #TV2wikigate in the past few days following the airing of a short segment on Wikipedia on the Danish mainstream news channel TV2.

The segment, which was aired as part of daily morning show “Go’ Morgen Danmark”, showed the two hosts discussing the possibilities for abusing Wikipedia and posting incorrect information, citing the case of an Irish student who’d managed to get false information into several newspaper as an experiment.

The hosts then checked out their own Wikipedia entries, which, they joked, were full of blatant falsehoods – such as wrong birthdates and personal information. Even though they hinted that members of their staff had made these edits, they still used it as an example of how untrustworthy Wikipedia can be.

This has enraged Danish wikipedians, bloggers, and other proponents of participatory culture. They point to the history of edits made to the wiki pages, which the hosts claimed contained falsehoods. They clearly show that only changes were a changed birthdate – a change which was reverted within 4 minutes. All the other false information, which the hosts mentioned had never even been entered into Wikipedia.

Twitter is all abuzz, and “hashmob” has formed under the Twitter hashtag #tv2wikigate, with new tweets adding to the conversation every minute. At the time of writing, the tweets contain links to a recent press release, wherein the TV2 editor responsible states that he considers the segment a satiric warning against relying on Wikipedia articles as undisputed facts.

But a lot of tweeters argue that a majority of the 800,000 viewers who watched that segment didn’t get the joke and understood that you won’t find such jokes on your average Wikipedia entry. They see it as a smearing of the fundamentals of participatory culture online.

Here at Socialsquare, we’ve spent some time considering what this case can teach organisations about Wikipedia and engaging with online participatory culture in general. We’ve found at least four points of interest:

1. Don’t mess with communities
The case here is that Wikipedia might look like a website with a lot of articles – but it is also a group of dedicated and loyal and hard working people. And on the internet – in the bloggosfere – and among the Twitterati Wikipedians are know as nice and dedicated and serious people – so if you make fun of them or try to destroy their work you will face a large group of fans amongst internet inhabitants who will blog, tweet, e-mail and write about it endlessly

2. Get the facts straight
Even though it is the internet it is not Klondyke. There are facts and knowledge to be found – call someone who knows about Wikipedia and get their take BEFORE you just offer your uninformed opinion on an issue. Wikipedia IS moderated and edited – it is just done by people who are not paid – they should get a medal – not be laughed at.

3. If you don’t know – don’t pretend to know
If you don’t know how the review procedure on Wikipedia works (such as the fact that you don’t have to be a member to revert changes), don’t claim to know. Not only are you exposing your ignorance, but you’re also belittling those who do know and take pride and care in reviewing and verifying the information.

4. Show respect for culture you don’t understand
Entering an online community is like entering a different culture. Pretend you are in a different country: Try to be curious not condemning – you might learn something useful and make new friends. Rushing in with a lot of noise and calling people “librarians” is just as inappropriate as wearing a tubetop at a funeral.

We find that this is a vital issue that deserves a better and more nuanced discussion than what Twitter can offer: Therefore, we invite anyone interested in this issue to join us for an informal discussion on how do organisations engage with existing online communities such as Wikipedia? What role does traditional mass media play in relation to online participatory culture? In short: What lessons can be learned from the #TV2wikigate case?

The meeting is free and will take place on at 16.00 on Tuesday May 19th at Socialsquare’s offices on Vesterbrogade 67, 1 (entrance through Westend).

Since we have a limited number of seats we urge you to sign up below. Preference will be given to organisations and businesses interested in understanding and relating to online communities and Wikipedia (TV2 hosts Anders Breinholt and Cecilie Frøkjær are most welcome to join us).