Wikipedia has become the new best friend of students rushing to write their final papers, catch up on the War in Iraq or publish information you are knowledgeable about. But the age-old adage still rings true – you can’t believe everything you read on the Internet.

The beauty, and problem, with Wikipedia is that anyone can edit it or add new information. So, if you wanted to change an entry about Mick Jagger to say that he recently converted to Daoism and flew off on a spaceship, it would only take a few clicks of the mouse, and seventh-graders writing their music class papers would be none the wiser. This misdirection doesn’t cause any permanent harm, but what if something like O.J. Simpson’s profile was changed to state that he actually did murder Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman? There’s no one to hold accountable for that kind of libel.

But the common user doesn’t realize the possibility of misinformation. According to The New York Times, Wikipedia is now the biggest encyclopedia in the history of the world, receiving 2.5 billion page views a month, and offering close to two million articles. And its creator, Jimmy Wales of St. Petersburg, Fla., said its traffic doubles every four months. Moral of the story? The masses are asses. Wikipedia’s a great starting point, but make sure to double, even triple, fact check before handing in your ETS paper. You might just save yourself an F.