https://xkcd.com/978/ https://xkcd.com/978/ is one reason to care. If many papers state the same thing and don't cite each other, a reader could reasonably con

https://xkcd.com/978/ https://xkcd.com/978/ is one reason to care. If many papers state the same thing and don't cite each other, a reader could reasonably conclude that thing must be true, as so many people have independently verified/discovered it. The well of knowledge on Wikipedia, and the Internet as a whole, is forever poisoned due to journalists not consistently citing sources.