Johan Jönsson has edited Wikipedia since 2004. In April 2022, his book "Wikipedia from the inside" was also published, where the reader gets an insight into what the work behind the enormous amount of information looks like.
According to him, the website will be the first port of call for many who are curious about the parties and the election.
- You go there with questions like "What does this party stand for?"
and goes to the summary found in the encyclopedia, says Johan Jönsson.
"Wikipedia is not democratic"
Wikipedia is the world's largest encyclopedia, but not all information must be there, says Jönsson.
He says that Wikipedia is a publication with relevance criteria and that there must be a public interest.
When it comes to politicians, therefore, the selection is not always democratic.
- If it is someone who is, for example, a municipal councillor, then we must have an article.
But if there is someone who hopes to become a municipal councillor, then we should not have an article.
This means that Wikipedia is not democratic in that everyone gets the same chance.
That is not the point.
The point is to spread information and not to take a position.
So the information is thinned out
But how should one relate to the information?
Wikipedia's format is open and anyone can enter and edit the content of the pages.
And according to Jönsson, the overview of the content is done by an "informal editor", that is to say that the majority of those who devote themselves to sifting through the information do so in their spare time.
So the system is entirely based on goodwill?
- It's not like you sit there and do something and then no one else looks at it.
And if you start behaving in a way that doesn't match your role as an administrator, someone will see it and undo your change, says Johan Jönsson.
- The system is based on transparency and that everything is reviewed.
Jönsson also believes that it is not always good to have a Wikipedia page about yourself - watch him explain why in the clip above.