This is how educated people think

A co-founder of Wikipedia disagrees and says the site cannot be trusted because data is populated by volunteers.

Actually, wikipedia is a gutless coward about "controversial" issues. They stick with "official" sources even when the official sources are obviously lying.

Me: Wikipedia editor for well beyond a decade.

Dude I actually respect that. Good for you.

Wikipedia is a presumptively reliable source, despite its founders' protestations and a disclaimer about reliability on their website that is probably for liability purposes most of all.

If you want to prove Wikipedia wrong, you have to actually prove Wikipedia wrong. Not just whine vaguely about it.

Check any Wikipedia article you want against a comparable Encyclopedia Britannica article or what-have-you and try to spot any meaningful differences.

I actually like Wikipedia better since more topics and sub-topics are covered, the website is easy to navigate, the articles tend to stay very up-to-date, and the supporting sources are easy to find.

It's not the be-all, end-all of research, but it's a very, very good place to start on any topic.