MIAC cites Wikipedia as source

Intro: In reports obtained from a Sunshine law request, MIAC cites a publicly edited online database as a source.

Max Reiss (REECE) has more from Jefferson City.

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Many students are forbidden from using Wikipedia as a source when they write research papers.

Those rules do not apply to the state run Missouri Information Analysis Center.

In a report obtained from the Missouri State Highway Patrol, MIAC details how the Nation of Islam has a history of resisting law enforcement and cites a Wikipedia article as the source of the information.

Those claims came out of a September 2007 report on black separatism.

Since 2007, the agency has issued 16 reports ranging from alerts on anarchists to details on white supremacists.

The patrol withheld four classified reports relating to law enforcement tactics.

Reporting from the state Capitol, I'm Max Reiss, Newsradio 1120 KMOX.

Intro: A day after the Missouri Information Analysis Center got a new director, the state funded agency's reports dating back almost two years have questionable sources.

Max Reiss (REECE) has more from Jefferson City.

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MIAC reports list no authors and in some cases don't list any sources.

But at least one of the reports collected from the Missouri State Highway Patrol, cites Wikipedia as one of the report's references.

That's right, Wikipedia.

The online encyclopedia which allows anyone surfing the web to edit articles or add new ones to the database.

In a report on Black Separatism, the Missouri Information Analysis Center cited Wikipedia in a section about the Nation of Islam as well in the report's introduction.

The Highway Patrol released twelve of the sixteen total MIAC reports.

The four withheld contain tactical information, which, according to the patrol are not for public eyes.

Reporting from the state Capitol, I'm Max Reiss. Newsradio 1120 KMOX.

Intro: In the twelve reports for public eyes from the Missouri Information Analysis Center, it addresses groups ranging from white supremacists to the Black Panthers.

Max Reiss (REECE) has more from the State Capitol.

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MIAC's reports date back to 2007 when it started issuing bulletins, reports, and alerts on public safety topics.

The agency covered the modern militia, anarchist, and national socialist movements, as well as paganism to name a few.

Authors are not listed on any of the twelve reports.

Nearly half of them have no record of where MIAC obtained its information.

One six page report has only one reference, and another contains citations from Wikipedia dot org, a website which allows anyone on the web to add or edit entries.

All but three of the reports contain final sections advising law enforcement on how to handle the groups .

Reporting from the state Capitol, I'm Max Reiss. Newsradio 1120 KMOX.