Coverage of the 9/11 terrorist attacks helped shape Wikipedia's editorial policies

Wikipedia articles are read more than 16 billion times every month

Nearly 300,000 volunteers worldwide help write, edit, and fact-check articles on the site in real-time, striving to ensure content is authored from a neutral point of view. All pages are freely accessible and must include citations to reliable, published sources.

After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, The Onion stuck with satire

Although other comedians believed anything lighthearted in the wake of the attacks was inappropriate, The Onion, a satirical newspaper, decided to do what it always did. That issue’s top story was a headline that would go down in comedy history.

A conversation with Wikipedia’s cofounder

In the early 2000s, the nonprofit free encyclopedia Wikipedia launched and became one of the most visited sites on the internet. This lengthy interview with cofounder Jimmy Wales provides insight into how the encyclopedia originated, how it is funded, its plans for the future, and a number of other facts about the hugely influential resource.

The software for wikis—user-editable websites—was launched in 1995

Computer programmer Ward Cunningham created the WikiWikiWeb online application based on an offline system that helped track how ideas moved through his company. The application enabled users to collaborate and edit website content through a web browser, as well as link pages without requiring a structured navigation scheme.

Wikipedia edit wars often reflect a strong commitment to accuracy between editors

Battles over grammar and capitalization, names and nationalities, and British versus American spellings of words have taken place due to the collaborative editing nature of the site. The most seemingly trivial debates are catalogued on the site's "Lamest edit wars" page.

Smithsonian artifacts that tell the story of 9/11 (w/photos)

Hundreds of objects linked to the attacks, from office supplies recovered at the World Trade Center to firefighters’ gear used at the Pentagon to fragments pulled from the crash site of Flight 93, reside in the national collection. Read about 31 Smithsonian artifacts that help unravel the complex story of 9/11 and its aftermath.

Wikipedia allows users to vote for what the last article on the site will be

Labeled as "humorous" on the site, the "Last topic pool" page lists various conditions where Wikipedia's final article would be written, including various end-of-the-world scenarios, instances where humanity might cease to exist, cases of Wikipedia becoming corrupted or uneditable, and the possibility of all possible knowledge having been written about.

In 2014, a Wikipedia monument was unveiled in Słubice, Poland

Created from fiber and resin, the $14,000 sculpture features four people holding the Wikipedia globe—the company's logo since 2003. An inscription on the monument pays homage to the anonymous editors who contributed to the site.

China has blocked the Wikipedia domain since 2015

The Chinese language version of the site had been blocked intermittently since 2004 due to pages featuring topics deemed controversial by the Chinese communist party, including the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and Taiwan. Once Wikipedia switched to an HTTPS protocol—making it impossible to block individual pages—all Wikipedia pages were blocked.

See how newspapers broke the news of the attack around the world

This collection showcases front pages from cities around the globe reacting to Pearl Harbor in real-time—capturing the shock, fear and uncertainty as the US entered World War II.

The unofficial theme song for Wikipedia is based on 'Hotel California'

Written by user Elf in 2004, the song's humorous lyrics highlight the efforts of volunteer editors and describe an evening spent by "wikipediholics" improving the site, set to the backdrop of the Eagles' 1976 song.

Infographics explaining global terrorism trends

Our World in Data’s terrorism page details global trends in terrorism. Through interactive infographics, the site shows how the number of terrorist acts varies around the world and how it has changed over time. Sections investigate common definitions of terrorism, trends in global terrorism deaths, and the global distribution of terrorism. Additional segments highlight airline hijackings, public opinion, and media coverage of terrorism. Explore this website for an array of infographics on terrorism.

An interactive timeline of the major events of World War I

World War I took place between July 28, 1914 and November 11, 1918, but a lot happened within that relatively short time. And even more occurred afterward. The comprehensive timeline shows when major and influential events took place during the conflict, accompanied by articles, videos, and other media in support.

The 'Facebook papers' revealed the company prioritized profit over public safety

A whistleblower came forward with internal documents showing employees warned leadership about the company's role in fueling political unrest and misinformation. Systems like XCheck shielded high-profile users like President Donald Trump from normal content rules, often to avoid PR backlash.

The 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force has been used by four administrations to justify military operations in 22 countries

Passed three days after the September 11 attacks to authorize the use of force against al-Qaeda and the Taliban, the 2001 AUMF has since been stretched far beyond its original scope and has been used by four consecutive administrations to justify military operations.

One Fair Wage is a national organization advocating for eliminating subminimum wages

Saru Jayaraman has run One Fair Wage since 2020, an offshoot of a 9/11 relief organization for displaced workers and victims’ families she helped start shortly after the attacks. Seventy-three employees of the World Trade Center’s top-floor restaurant were killed on September 11.

How Kurt Cobain's suicide changed the media

Public health experts feared that the suicide of a high-profile figure, especially for young people, would lead to a rise in suicides across the country. The opposite turned out to be true: Suicide rates decreased. Specialists suggest that's due to the way Cobain's death was covered, with news organizations largely avoiding glorification and including crisis hotline information.

Chernobyl pushed the world to create rapid-alert systems for nuclear accidents

In the aftermath of the disaster, nations adopted new agreements requiring immediate international notification of nuclear accidents. They coordinated emergency assistance—efforts led by the International Atomic Energy Agency to prevent future disasters from being concealed when radiation emergencies occur.

YouTube brought endless content—and endless culture wars

How did YouTube grow from a startup in 2005, to a media powerhouse with more than 2.5 billion monthly logged-in users who watch more than 1 billion hours of video every day? That’s what this podcast interview with Bloomberg tech reporter Mark Bergen on NPR’s Fresh Air explores.

As fantasy football grew more popular, the NFL began adapting

By the late 1990s, CBS, ESPN, and Yahoo had all launched their fantasy platforms, allowing the game to grow even more popular. By 2009, the NFL took note and began offering coverage that explicitly focused on fantasy metrics, including “RedZone,” a popular Sunday show that allows viewers to tune into the most crucial moments from around the league—or across their fantasy rosters.

The Wall Street Journal: a timeline

The Wall Street Journal got its start as a financial news bulletin for people trading stocks. Since then, it has evolved beyond just financial news. It now ranks among the preeminent global business news sources.

View a history of hashtags through 2013

First used on Twitter in August 2007, the social media shorthand gained popularity in October of that year during the San Diego wildfires as a means of coordinating emergency response and disaster relief. Instagram, Google+, Flickr, Facebook, and other social media companies would later integrate hashtags into their platforms.

Critics of New Journalism believe the form shares unreliable information

After Gay Talese’s 2016 book on Gerald Foos was found to lack factual accuracy, criticism of New Journalism returned to the limelight. Some believe the narrative focus requires abandoning the facts and leaves too much room for writers to make up material rather than present what actually happened.

The controversy behind the Vietnam Veterans Memorial

It's now a standard stop for tourists visiting Washington, DC, but before it was built the Vietnam Veterans Memorial triggered an internecine battle between the war's veterans, some of whom believed the planned memorial was offensive. This short documentary recounts the controversy and the ultimate triumph of the memorial, which helped change the country's impression of the war and its soldiers.

A movie helped make JFK assassination conspiracies widespread

Oliver Stone's film "JFK" (1991) imagined the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy as the result of a conspiracy by US government agents. Before the film, this belief was not common, but it became widely adopted afterward. The film's impact contributed to the release of major CIA files in subsequent decades. (Some users may experience a paywall.)

The US first hosted the World Cup in 1994, a tournament that lives in soccer infamy for its poor planning and the murder of Colombian player Andres Escobar, who'd accidentally scored on his own net.

Fireworks-related ER visits are on the rise—in 2024, they increased by 52% as compared to the prior year.

See the most iconic photos from four decades of LIFE magazine

A Yale student wrote a profound essay about the consulting industry's influence on elite college students that was published in a book of her writing after she died in a post-graduation car accident.

Explore an interactive map of battles from the American Revolution, along with detailed summaries of each engagement

View the ten deadliest tornadoes in US history.

While the first exchange-traded fund (a 'basket' of different assets that can be bought and sold on a stock exchange) in the US only launched in 1993, the global ETF market has grown to more than $10T in the short time since.

A 2019 Facebook event called on attendees to "Storm Area 51, They Can't Stop All of Us," resulting in countless memes, the creation of a music festival, and eventually the arrests of those who did try to approach the area.

Children are now three times more likely to say they want to be a YouTuber when they grow up than an astronaut, with some even attending 'YouTube camps' that teach kids how to create content for the platform.

The US Constitution is widely regarded as the longest-standing written national constitution still in force—see how it has influenced rights worldwide.

US intelligence allegedly pursued more than 600 schemes to assassinate Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro.

Long before Major League Baseball began allowing instant replay for balls and strikes, an umpire reluctantly used the technology to determine whether a hit was a home run, a move that inadvertently ushered in a new era for the sport.

Before writing 'Walden,' transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau nearly burned down his hometown with a campfire that grew out of control.

The use of fungi to detoxify land and water—a process known as mycoremediation—has been used to clean up natural resources affected by the 2025 California wildfires.

Before the current East Wing ballroom project, only two White House renovations in the past 100 years cost more than $10M.

In 1915, workers recovered a submarine-like vessel from the Chicago River, prompting fears of German espionage

Jimmy Carter signed a 1978 bill that legalized home brewing, a move credited with kick-starting the craft beer industry.

The name 'Silicon Valley' arose from the founding of Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory in Fairchild Semiconductor in 1956-57, founded near Stanford University in Palo Alto

Explore the archaeological treasures of Pompeii, the city buried under volcanic ash when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 CE.

Double world record holder Hunter Ewen helped conquer his fear of balloons, called globophobia, by training to win Guinness World Record titles for balloon inflation.

As of 2025, the most cited papers in science include a review of graphene, methods to improve image recognition, streamlining electron density calculations, and optimizing protein studies.

Learn how monoclonal antibodies, which mimic the body's antibodies, can fight diseases like Ebola.

Domino's Pizza's 30-minute delivery guarantee was responsible for the chain's 1980s surge, but it was discontinued after the company was found liable for delivery driver accidents.

How Amazon operates a 'flywheel' business model, a self-reinforcing cycle that drives continuous growth

The first image of a black hole was captured by creating an Earth-sized virtual observatory from a network of eight radio telescopes.