The Canucks are still "considering their options" following the Toronto Star including a "bogus quote stolen from Wikipedia and attributed" to team President & GM Mike Gillis as part of a story about the late Rick Rypien, according to Bruce Dowbiggin of the GLOBE & MAIL. Toronto Star intern reporter Michael Woods found the false quotation that had Gillis saying Rypien, who suffered from depression, was "crazy." The Globe & Mail on Friday reported Wikipedia "was indeed the source of the quote," and the Star "admitted the goof, which it called 'an egregious error.'" Toronto Star Public Editor Kathy English said, "This was a rookie's mistake, but one I know even experienced journalists at other news organizations have made in recent years." Dowbiggin reports Friday's edition of the Star included a note that said the 23-year-old intern was "devastated by his error," and the paper "reached out to the Canucks to apologize." Star Sports Editor Jon Filson said he was "horrified" by the mistake. Star Editor-in-Chief Michael Cooke "sent out a note to staff warning about trusting the veracity of the Internet and new information platforms." Dowbiggin notes the story "shows that with exit portals for information now multiplied to the nth degree, the chances of invalid information escaping have increased exponentially." Another concern is that cutbacks "on staff and resources at many mainstream media outlets also pulls the safety net further back" (GLOBE & MAIL, 8/25).
