Meet the man behind a third of what's on Wikipedia

Meet(mēt) the man behind(bəˈhīnd) a third of what’s on Wikipedia(wikəˈpēdēə)

By CBS News

Steven Pruitt has made nearly 3 million(ˈmilyən) edits(ˈedit) on Wikipedia and written 35,000 original(əˈrijənl) articles(ˈärdək(ə)l). It’s earned him not only accolades(-ˌläd,ˈakəˌlād) but almost legendary(ˈlejənˌderē) status(ˈstādəs, ˈstadəs) on the internet.

The online encyclopedia(enˌsīkləˈpēdēə) now boasts(bōst) more than 5.7 million articles in English and millions more translated(transˈlāt,tranz-) into other languages – all written by online volunteers(ˌvälənˈtir). Pruitt was named one of the most influential(ˌinflo͞oˈenCHəl) people on the internet by Time magazine(ˈmagəˌzēn,ˌmagəˈzēn) in part because one-third of all English language articles on Wikipedia have been edited by Steven. An incredible(inˈkredəbəl) feat(fēt), ignited(igˈnīt) by a fascination(ˌfasəˈnāSHən) with his own history.

Pruitt is deeply obsessed(əbˈses) with history, and his love of opera(ˈäp(ə)rə) inspired(inˈspīrd) his Wikipedia username: Ser Amantio Di Nicolao, his favorite opera character(ˈkariktər).

“My first article was about Peter(ˈpēdər) Francisco, who was my great great great great great great grandfather … and if we had an hour I could probably(ˈpräblē,ˈpräbəblē) go into the full story,” Pruitt said. “He was a sergeant(ˈsärjənt) in arms in the Virginia(vərˈjinyə) Senate(ˈsenət) and there’s kidnapping(ˈkidˌnap), potential(pəˈten(t)SHəl) piracy(ˈpīrəsē). If you read the story you would not believe any of it happened.”

Still living with his parents in the home he grew up in, Pruitt has always remained(riˈmān) true to his interests.

“I think for a long time there was an attitude(ˈadəˌt(y)o͞od) of, ‘That’s nice, dear. The boy’s crazy. I don’t know why he wastes(wāst) his time, the boy’s crazy,’” Pruitt said of what his parents think of his volunteer gig(gig).

That may have changed when Time magazine named him one of the top 25 most influential people on the internet, alongside President Trump(trəmp), J.K. Rowling(ˈrouliNG) and Kim Kardashian West.

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https://www.cbsnews.com/news/meet-the-man-behind-a-third-of-whats-on-wikipedia/