Wikipedia:Wikipedia clones
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This page in a nutshell: Web sites that contain information that is directly copied from Wikipedia cannot be used to verify the accuracy of any information on Wikipedia. |
A Wikipedia clone, also called a Wikipedia mirror site, is a web site that uses information derived wholly or in large part from Wikipedia. The information displayed on the site either may come from an older version of one or more Wikipedia articles that the site has never updated, or may be designed to update the information each time the respective Wikipedia article(s) are edited. Some Wikipedia clones are robotically created without human inspection to verify their accuracy. Most run advertisements to generate revenue.
Wikipedia cannot be used as a source for itself, and therefore, information found on such clone sites cannot be considered a
Very often (but not always), information is removed from Wikipedia because it has been found to be inaccurate. Many
Also, some sources that seem on first glance reliable may have information directly quoted or obviously paraphrased in large part from Wikipedia. Information obviously originating in Wikipedia should not be used to reference an article.
See also
- Wikipedia:Verifiability#Wikipedia and sources that mirror or use it
- Wikipedia:Mirrors and forks
- Wikipedia:Fictitious references
- Wikipedia:Copying within Wikipedia