yes -- for most topics, the curated information in a wikipedia article is better than the first page of G results. This is partly because curation still works

yes -- for most topics, the curated information in a wikipedia article is better than the first page of G results. This is partly because curation still works in 2016, but also because G results are easier to monetize. A significant portion of web content is some form of clickbait, i.e. ad-supported pages with no new information on their topic. For now, viral content seems like a bigger threat to search results than abuse by the index operators. (Though that can change in a hurry; some studies have shown that search rankings can be used to influence get-out-the-vote numbers).