Cuba Launches Its Own Version of Wikipedia

Cuba is launching its own version of the popular crowd-sourced encyclopedia Wikipedia.

According to its homepage, EcuRed (www.ecured.cu) -- which is billed as “Knowledge by all and for all” -- already holds over 19,500 entries, including one about the United States that calls it “the empire (imperialist?) of our time and the most powerful country in the world.”

According to a September survey conducted by Cuba’s state-run National Office of Statistics, less than 3 percent of Cubans used the Internet at least once over the past year. EcuRed will be available both on the unfettered Internet and via the government intranet of approved sites.

About the United States, it says: “Historically, it has been characterized by divesting other nations and countries by force of their territories and natural resources.” It defines capitalism as “a late phase of imperialism” and features a quote from José Martí prominently on the homepage: “The blood of good people is never spilled in vain.”

EcuRed, whose launch was first reported by Reuters, features an extensive biography of Fidel Castro, and an article on his brother, Raul Castro, who is described as “revolutionary fighter, statesman, and political and military leader.”

The site does not yet mention Raul Castro’s controversial economic reforms, Damas de Blanco, or well-known dissident Guillermo Fariñas, who this year was awarded the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought.

But it does feature an entry on Daddy Yankee.