World watched as Wikipedia shut down for SOPA blackout

Last week's24 hour Wikipedia blackout protest against theStop Online Piracy Act andPROTECT IP Act was heavily covered by the world's international media. A full page listing media covering of the blackout ison Meta-Wiki.

Before the protest started,Jimmy Wales gave interviews toCNN, and appeared onBBC Radio 5 Live, and onBBC Two's Newsnight to debate Michael O'Leary, a representative of theMotion Picture Association of America. After the blackout concluded, theBits blog ofThe New York Times interviewed Jimmy. Wikinewsinterviewed Wikimedia Foundation Executive DirectorSue Gardner.

The blackout led Seth Borensteinat MSNBC to wonder what it would be like if the Internet went down. The article claims that for a day or so, there wouldn't be any major physical harm, but after a few days it would lead to economic crisis and mass unemployment. As a response to the blackout,The Guardian launched a blog feature called "Guardipedia", where bloggers responded to questions using printed copies of theEncyclopedia Britannica andWho's Who as an alternative to Wikipedia.The Signpost noted that theBritannica volumes were out-of-date, and were not much help in answering a question about South African history: "Apparently Nelson Mandela is still in jail? That's what the book says, anyway."

Twitterers gently mocked Wikipedia's absence with a hashtag called "#FactsWithoutWikipedia" where people made up outlandish claims.MSNBC reports on doug_gross' 'fact': "Marc Zuckerberg (real name, Horblatt Snarfleblurp) was an alien scout sent to Earth to ruin human productivity."Russia Today posted more tweets:

• "Eminem had the same skin-whitening treatment as Michael Jackson, but it worked."
• "The British version of Wikipedia is called Wikipaedia."
• "France has lost its AAA rating. This means they are no longer allowed to sell small batteries."

The meme was also taken up by a number of other news sources:Now. Here. This., the blog ofTime Out London, pulled some choice London facts like "Sophie Ellis-Bextor once ran for a Lib Dem councillor seat in West London" and "Ed Miliband is a London based Alt-Folk band".IrishCentral.com quoted tweets posted under the derived hashtag #irishFactsWithoutWikipedia including "TheIRA was a splinter group of TheRichard and Judy Book Club that just got a bit out of hand".SBNation.com quoted a variety ofNASCAR-related phony facts.

There was a significant amount of post-blackout coverage, with one focus on US senators who changed their minds over SOPA, as well as how SOPA and PIPA would affect the Internet as we know it.

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Tell you what struck me - the comcom's phones started ringing on Tuesday morning, soon as the UK journalists got into work and saw the warning countdown banner up. Then the UK bunch had to do press for the US media (hence me on NPR) 'cos San Francisco wouldn't be awake at the time. (Though, of course, they were.) Journalists joked about students missing Wikipedia ... but if anyone'sutterly dependent on Wikipedia, it's the journalists.

(Post-mortemhere. Including "how to get roped in as a media volunteer", for those wondering. It can be six months between calls, but when we need you weneed you.) -David Gerard (talk)22:41, 26 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

David, was it you who made the automobile analogy? If so, that's one of the most powerful sound bites I've heard in years.Viriditas (talk)04:17, 27 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Bank robbers and cars? Yep :-)Nicked directly fromCory Doctorow. That soundbite played spectacularly well and defused a common objection out the gate. I expect Hollywood rhetoric to adapt quickly, though. Most brilliant soundbite of the blackout, "Imagine a world without free knowledge", was coined bySarahStierch just a few hours before blackout -David Gerard (talk)08:13, 27 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

I missed the NPR feed. I heard you as part of the lead story on the BBC Global News podcast, and it was perfect. Very impressive.Viriditas (talk)10:01, 27 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Ah, the 18 Jan onehere. That was Jimbo using the analogy, not me (though I did a few BBC radio slots). It seemed to work in other languages too -David Gerard (talk)00:11, 28 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

He did a great job.Viriditas (talk)03:35, 28 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]