posted August 20, 2007 11:44 AM              

CIA And FBI Computers Used For Wikipedia Edits

By PC Magazine.
WASHINGTON (Reuters)—People using CIA and FBI computers have edited entries in the online encyclopedia Wikipedia on topics including the Iraq war and the Guantanamo prison, according to a new tracing program.

The changes may violate Wikipedia’s conflict-of-interest guidelines, a spokeswoman for the site said on Thursday.

The program, WikiScanner, was developed by Virgil Griffith of the Santa Fe Institute in New Mexico and posted this month on a Web site that was quickly overwhelmed with searches.

The program allows users to track the source of computers used to make changes to the popular Internet encyclopedia where anyone can submit and edit entries.

WikiScanner revealed that CIA computers were used to edit an entry on the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. A graphic on casualties was edited to add that many figures were estimated and were not broken down by class.

Another entry on former CIA chief William Colby was edited by CIA computers to expand his career history and discuss the merits of a Vietnam War rural pacification program that he headed.

Aerial and satellite images of the U.S. prison for terrorism suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, were removed using a computer traced to the FBI, WikiScanner showed.

CIA spokesman George Little said he could not confirm whether CIA computers were used in the changes, adding that “the agency always expects its computer systems to be used responsibly.”

The FBI did not have an immediate response.

Computers at numerous other organizations and companies were found to have been involved in editing articles related to them.

Griffith said he developed WikiScanner “to create minor public relations disasters for companies and organizations I dislike (and) to see what ‘interesting organizations’ (which I am neutral towards) are up to.”

It was not known whether changes were made by an official representative of an agency or company, Griffith said, but it was certain the change was made by someone with access to the organization’s network.

It violates Wikipedia’s neutrality guidelines for a person with close ties to an issue to contribute to an entry about it, said spokeswoman Sandy Ordonez of the Wikimedia Foundation, Wikipedia’s parent organization.

However, she said, “Wikipedia is self-correcting,” meaning misleading entries can be quickly revised by another editor. She said Wikimedia welcomed the WikiScanner.

WikiScanner can be found at wikiscanner.virgil.gr/

posted August 24, 2007 07:37 PM            

Once at the library, I was researching a European country and I started with the encyclopedia in the children's section before moving to the one in the adult section. The 2 sources contradicted each other on A LOT, some of it being downright opposite. IIRC, one listed a certain product as a major export while the other as a major import. Figuring that maybe there were many years between the encyclopedias, I checked and found out they were both copyrighted in the very same year.

posted August 28, 2007 06:44 AM              

Just discovered that this Evil Corporation I used to work for has edited their own info 67 times! Wow! -wonder why... [Perhaps because previous employees posted truth about the company], LOL!

Anyways...
I'll probably be running all kinds of names through the scanner for entertainment now

Thank you for sharing this article and link!