THE EDITORS by Stephen Harrison - Spotlight

 

Aim for Neutrality. We Need Better Sources. Anonymity is Fundamental. Keep Developing.

THE EDITORS by author Stephen Harrison know these principles. The editors follow them—or subvert them—every day. The editors aren’t recognized on the street, but they craft the information that is seen on nearly every internet search. Through Infopendium, the ubiquitous, crowd-sourced internet encyclopedia, the editors influence the world.

Freelance journalist Morgan Wentworth, recently laid off from PopFeed News, attends the Global Infopendium Conference in New York expecting a straightforward story to help pay the rent. But the so-called “‘pendium people” are full of surprises. PhDs rub shoulders with high school students, all quoting the project’s rules and regulations like a second language. Sure, millions of people see the facts curated by these editors, but who really cares about the free encyclopedia?

When a hacker attacks the conference and posts a cryptic message, it becomes clear that somebody does. And Morgan decides to find out who. But the path through an online information war is far from clear. Foreign governments, billionaires, and a global virus threaten to sway the truth on Infopendium.

And far from Morgan’s sight, in places as different as Beijing and Kansas, some of the editors have plans of their own . . .

I am a writer and tech lawyer. My writing has appeared in the New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, WIRED, and many other outlets. For several years, I wrote a column for Slate magazine focused on Wikipedia and internet information.

I hold degrees in English literature, business, and law from the University of Texas at Austin and Washington University in St. Louis.

You can find my latest writing in my newsletter Source Notes where I cover books, AI, and Wikipedia.