Wikipedia vs BBB: Which One Is a Credible Platform?

 

 

 

Wikipedia and Better Business Bureau (BBB) are two major internet platforms working as an encyclopedia and a nonprofit organization, respectively. Wikipedia fascinates the bunch of knowledge and information about individuals and businesses. BBB, on the contrary, is a nonprofit organization that aims to advance marketplace trust. This article will shed light on which one is more credible in learning business credibility when it comes to Wikipedia vs BBB.

How Wikipedia Works

Wikipedia is an encyclopedia based on multi-languages. The community of volunteers writes or maintains information with a wiki-based editing process. These volunteers are known as Wikipedians.
Considering Wikipedia as a reliable platform, it’s the largest and most-read platform for reference in history. In addition, Wikipedia is consistently ranked in the 15 most popular websites by Alexa. As of 2021, Wikipedia is the 13th most popular website.

As per the stats, an individual spends an average time of 3 minutes on Wikipedia each day. The encyclopedia website does not carry any advertisements. Anything published on Wikipedia can be trustworthy and credible.

There is no rule of “pay to play.” Businesses cannot incorporate fake reviews or information on Wikipedia to gain the traction of their target markets. The encyclopedia is accountable for ensuring information with transparency.

Like other platforms, businesses cannot register themselves on Wikipedia without credible sources and noteworthiness. Companies need to ensure all the criteria that Wikipedia requires.

How BBB Works

Better Business Bureau is a nonprofit organization that shows a business’s performance and trustworthiness. For instance, if you want to hire a local plumber or buy a pillow, you can visit the BBB site and check the company’s profile before making a buying decision.

The site will disclose how the company is performing in the marketplace through a rating system. BBB provides membership to the companies so that consumers can find their information on the site.
Each business profile includes basic information, such as the company’s address, contact number, and time period of operation. The site also shows the business’s BBB grate – on a scale from A to F. Consumers can also find customer reviews and information about consumer complaints.

BBB portrays the trustworthiness of the businesses, but is the rating system itself trustworthy?

Trustworthiness

In comparison between Wikipedia and BBB, which one ensures reliable information? The information shared on Wikipedia cannot be biased. It is processed through a wiki-based editing system.
As a business person, you cannot ensure sponsored content on Wikipedia due to its strict algorithms. That’s why Wikipedia is considered a trustworthy information platform.

Various companies and a group of businesses claim that BBB is all about pay to play, which means anyone who pays gets the grade.

Businesses with more complaints have gained A+ or A- grades from BBB, whereas companies dealing well with customer complaints and giving satisfactory performance still have an F grade on BBB.
It’s simple! One who pays wins the game. BBB claims on their website that they provide a rating with transparency and works as a nonprofit organization. Meanwhile, various businesses claim that BBB’s rating system is not trustworthy.

Businesses that pay money earns grade “A” and companies that don’t pay stays on “F” grade despite giving an extraordinary performance in the market.

Algorithms

As mentioned earlier, businesses with lower performance have an A- grade provided by BBB, whereas businesses with great customer satisfaction still stay on an F grade. It shows that BBB follows no certain algorithm or judging criteria to rank businesses.

Various businesses in the UK have claimed that they were asked to pay a great number of pounds to get an A grade in one business day. In most situations, companies have switched from C to A+ rank within one or two business days after they paid money to BBB representatives.

Comparatively, Wikipedia does not ask for bribery. The encyclopedia platform – Wikipedia - portrays what’s true and proved. 

Credibility

There is no doubt that Better Business Bureau portrays itself as a powerful voice of the businesses. But BBB is not credible. Businesses from the UK and around the globe claim that there is a serious problem with BBB’s grading system.

BBB has lost its credibility since the businesses have claimed it as a scam. Not one or two, but there are thousands of cases businesses have filed against BBB for reporting the wrong image of their company and asking for bribery for better grades.

However, when it comes to Wikipedia vs BBB, Wikipedia has always maintained its credibility. The community of volunteers shares the information on Wikipedia through a wiki-based editing system. Noone put information on Wikipedia without credible sources.

The Bottom Line

Better Business Bureau is a nonprofit organization, but the information obtained from documents shows that more dozen of its top executives have six-figure salaries. That’s how BBB wins the game of money. It’s all about pay to play. Businesses that pay money claim great grades.

On the other hand, Wikipedia is a reliable platform for providing information based on facts. In simple words, on comparing Wikipedia vs BBB, Wikipedia is proven to be unbiased, whereas BBB is not credible.