Posted on 02/09/2006 4:25:34 AM PST by albionvectis
Online reference site Wikipedia blames US Congress staff for partisan changes to a number of political biographies. Computers traced to Capitol Hill removed unpalatable facts from articles on senators, while other entries were "vandalised", the site said.
An inquiry was launched after staff for Democratic representative Marty Meehan admitted polishing his biography.
Wikipedia is produced by readers who add entries and edit any page, and has become a widely-used reference tool.
'Liberal' to 'activist'
Using the public history of edits on Wikipedia, researchers collected the internet protocol numbers of computers linked to the US Senate and tracked the changes made to online pages.
The site lists half a dozen prominent biographies that had been changed by Senate computers, including those of Minnesota Senator Norm Coleman, California Senator Dianne Feinstein and Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa.
Senator Coleman's office has confirmed that staff there had made a number of changes to his online record.
Where he was described as a "liberal" back in college, this was changed to "activist".
Among other changes, staff also deleted a reference to Mr Coleman voting with President Bush 98% of the time in 2003, despite running as a moderate the year before.
Wikipedia said staffers of Senator Tom Harkin had removed a paragraph relating to Mr Harkin's having falsely claimed to have flown combat missions over North Vietnam, and his subsequent recantation.
A handful of miscellaneous vandalism edits had been made to some senators' articles, it said.
One example was the entry for Republican Senator Tom Coburn, of Oklahoma, who it was falsely alleged had been voted "most annoying senator".
Bush editing block
Senator Coleman's chief of staff, Erich Mische, said editing was done to correct inaccuracies and delete information that was not reflective of the politician.
The article on President Bush has been altered so many times - not just from within Congress - that Wikipedia's volunteer monitors have had to block further "editing"
"They've got an edit provision on there for the sake of editing when things are not accurate," Mr Mische told the Associated Press.
"I presume that if they did not want people to edit, they wouldn't allow you to edit."
Wikipedia says the controversy raises questions about whether it is ethical for those with a vested interest in the subject to edit entries about it.
It said the Congressional computer network has been blocked from editing for brief periods on a number of occasions in the last six months due to the inappropriate contributions.
The article on President Bush has been altered so many times - not just from within Congress - that Wikipedia's volunteer monitors have had to block further "editing".
But it also says its investigation showed the vast majority of edits from Senate IPs were "beneficial and helpful".
Massachusetts newspapers disclosed last month that staffers for Representative Marty Meehan had polished the boss's Wikipedia biography.
Deleted were references to a long-abandoned promise to serve only four terms, and to his campaign war chest.
Accuracy study
Wikipedia was founded in 2001 and has since grown to more than 1.8 million articles in 200 languages. Some 800,000 entries are in English.
It is based on wikis, open-source software which lets anyone fiddle with a webpage. Anyone reading a subject entry can disagree, edit, add, delete, or replace the entry.
A December 2005 study by the British journal Nature found it was about as accurate on science as the Encyclopaedia Britannica.
But it has been criticised for the correctness of entries, most recently over the biography of prominent US journalist John Seigenthaler - which incorrectly linked him to the Kennedy assassinations.
Congress would do something underhanded? I'm shocked.
Wikipedia - the online, free for all, user beware, system that may or may not be accurate. Why would anyone want to rely on it, is my question.
Conversely, why would anyone in congress bother making changes to an organ that is as much opinion as fact.
I'm skeptical of the "wise elders" who write traditional encyclopedia's too.
Like any propaganda machine masquerading as a fact outlet, it will become useful only to those whom are naive.
...But it has been criticised for the correctness of entries, most recently over the biography of prominent US journalist John Seigenthaler - which incorrectly linked him to the Kennedy assassinations.
Caveat Emptor.
Wikipedia says whatever the most active activists want it to say. You must take everything there with a cartoon of salt.
I'm glad they waste time and tax dollars messing withthis crap.
It's community edited - are some people not allowed to be part of the community? I see nothing wrong with this. Keeping people from being able to edit their own entries is where a problem would be.
Note to Congress: Won't help...
Wikipedia states that the Tasaday, a hoax admitted even by PBS documentaries, are real.
They have lost all credibility with that allowance. Wikipedia should never be used as a reference for anything.
Apparently some members of Congress believe that.
Since the President does not have any vote in Congress, the change Coleman's staff made was probably wise, in the interest of accuracy.
And you illustrate the prime attribute of print media; the corpus stands or falls together. Lie in a book and it will, sooner or later, be relegated to the trash heap. Lie virtually and promises of correction or excuses of 'error' can be claimed.
Wikipaedia will fail for its failure to address the unchanging nature of truth and of good and evil. Progressivism - change willy nilly for change's sake - is evil. Conservatism - clinging to the 'way' of the past - may not be the best way but it got us here, and that's bretty good for me.
Maybe we can change Teddy's Chappaquidic incident into a tragic car washing execise, Vince Foster's death is now simply an example of improper park usage, and Monica Lewinsky's blue dress was the first attempt by the Clintons to institue a constituional right to free dry cleaning.
To that ... there would be no doubt! ;)
P.J. O'Rourke
This country has come to feel the same when Congress is in session as when the baby gets hold of a hammer.
Will Rogers
With Congress, every time they make a joke it's a law, and every time they make a law it's a joke.
Will Rogers
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.