Conservapedia

Conservapedia is an internet encyclopedia project that attempts to present information from a conservative and pro-American viewpoint. It is a wiki project using the same Mediawiki software as Citizendium and Wikipedia; the site has set itself up in opposition particularly to Wikipedia and its perceived "liberal bias". It was founded in November, 2006, by Andrew Schlafly, son of conservative commentator Phyllis Schlafly, and originally began as a class project by homeschooled students. As of October, 2008, it had about 26,000 articles.

Editorial policy

Like Wikipedia, all contributors can freely edit articles unless the page has been protected, and anonymity is permitted. In line with its religious and Christian theme, Conservapedia's editorial policy consists of "Commandments", a reference to the two sets of laws the Bible says were handed down to Moses from God. The Commandments require, among others, that "everything... be true and verifiable" and also enforce a family-friendly policy. Until March, 2007, Conservapedia required by Commandment that "As much as possible, American spelling of words must be used", but now the site's "Manual of Style" presents American spellings as being preferred, with Commonwealth spellings possible depending on the context.

Conservapedia also emphasises that it does not "attempt to be neutral to all points of view". This seems to potentially allow for descriptions that favor one side rather than none; its own example of how "terrorist" is preferable to "militant", in contrast to what Wikipedia might use, presupposes that the subject is a terrorist.

Conservapedia administrators frequently have to block vandals attempting to insert inappropriate material.

Liberal commentators have made fun of the obsession of Conservapedia readers with homosexuality, as well as the entries on creation science. In its first year, Young Earth creationism held sway, but now Old Earth creationism is an equal partner.