User generated content is perilous for individuals search for information on the internet, Wikipedia founder Larry Sanger has claimed.
The online encyclopaedia is one of the bastions of Web 2.0 technology and has inspired many business websites to embrace consumer feedback and information from their users.
Although it certainly can improve a site's search engine optimisation and provide opportunities for expert linking, it can be open to serious sabotage.
Responding to education secretary Alan Johnston's claim that Wikipedia is a useful resource for schoolchildren, Mr Sanger said the site is now largely unreliable in an interview with the Times.
"I'm afraid that Mr Johnson does not realise the many problems afflicting Wikipedia, from serious management problems, to an often dysfunctional community, to frequently unreliable content, and to a whole series of scandals," he said.
"While Wikipedia is still quite useful and an amazing phenomenon, I have come to the view that it is also broken beyond repair."
There are more than six million articles on Wikipedia, all written by members of the public, and is consistently ranked as one of the top ten most popular websites on the web.
