Conservapedia
Conservapedia logo |
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Screenshot
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Type of site
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Internet encyclopedia project |
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| Available in | English |
| Owner | Andrew Schlafly |
| Created by | Volunteer contributors |
| Slogan(s) | The Trustworthy Encyclopedia |
| Website | www.conservapedia.com |
| Alexa rank |
 50,798; 12,950: United States (February 2017[update]) |
| Commercial | No |
| Registration | Optional (required to edit pages) |
| Launched | November 21, 2006 |
| Current status | Active |
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Content license
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Copyrighted (free use) |
The site has received negative reactions from the mainstream media, as well as from notable political figures, including commentators and journalists, and has historically been criticized for bias and inaccuracies.
The "Eagle Forum University" online education program, which is associated with Phyllis Schlafly's Eagle Forum organization, uses material for various online courses, including U.S. history, stored on Conservapedia. Editing of Conservapedia articles related to a particular course topic is also a certain assignment for Eagle Forum University students.
Conservapedia has editorial policies designed to prevent vandalism and what Schlafly sees as liberal bias. According to The Australian, although the site's operators claim that the site "strives to keep its articles concise, informative, family-friendly, and true to the facts, which often back up conservative ideas more than liberal ones", on Conservapedia "arguments are often circular" and "contradictions, self-serving rationalizations and hypocrisies abound."
The site has stated that it prohibits unregistered users from editing entries due to concerns over vandalism, disruption or defamation. Brian Macdonald, a Conservapedia editor, commented that vandalism was intended to "cause people to say, 'That Conservapedia is just wacko.'" According to Stephanie Simon of the Los Angeles Times, Macdonald spent many hours every day reverting "malicious editing". Vandals had inserted "errors, pornographic photos and satire." For example, U.S. Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales was said to be "a strong supporter of torture as a law enforcement tool for use against Democrats and third world inhabitants".
Although not all Conservapedia contributors subscribe to a young-earth creationist point of view—former administrator Terry Koeckritz stated to the Los Angeles Times that he did not take the Genesis creation account literally—sources have attributed the poor science coverage to an overall editorial support of the young-earth creationist perspective and an over-reliance on Christian creationist home-schooling textbooks. In an analysis in early 2007, science writer Carl Zimmer found evidence that much of what appeared to be inaccurate or inadequate information about science and scientific theory could be traced back to an over-reliance on citations from the works of home-schooling textbook author Jay L. Wile.
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