ABSTRACT
This chapter describes Wikipedia's relationship to the real world. The question arises how far can the Internet, and more particularly the Wikipedia community, be seen as contributing to a newly emerging public sphere, as defined by Jrgen Habermas and Michael Warner. The more successful the Wikipedia project, the more special interests will attempt to influence it; the only solution is presumably perpetual vigilance by the community. There are clearly two ways in which Wikipedia might be construed as achieving this, one being the provision of free and independent information to the public on which to base their opinions. The Wikipedia article on Obama is up-to-date and covers every possible aspect of his career and policies, his family life and background, together with images and also dozens of links to other relevant articles and sources of information. As a source of free information, Wikipedia clearly contributes to the requirements of both the passive voter and the engaged activist.
