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27February06

Wikipedia Traces Back “Vandalism” to Capitol Hill

Khusbhu Shah Reports:

Wikipedia has announced that it has blocked IP addresses on capitol Hill from accessing edits to their website at the current time after allegations of extreme edits by congressional aids for their bosses. If Wikipedia is a collaborative effort, is there anything wrong with staff members editing their bosses’ profiles? Are sites such as these credible sources for information?

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In recent weeks, Wikipedia has seen some edits to senator’s profiles, including one that describes a member that “smells like cow dung.” Insults such as these seem to have originated from Capitol Hill itself. After a handful of changes to representatives’ biographies were altered on the peer-reviewed open server Wikipedia, the online server blocked Capitol Hill IP addresses from editing on the website.These edits have occured on a bipartisan scale, and not all of the edits have been delted. Several aids have admitted within the past weeks that they altered and deleted information in reference to their bosses that they thought extraneous or unfair. Examples of changes to a “liberal” past, which was changed to “activist” on Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn) profile have raised questions on whether or not people with a vested interest should be able to alter profiles and information.

Although anyone with access to the sight may have the right to do so, some argue that a moral issue arises form these changes that have been allowed by some of the representatives. The alterations also shed light on the true validity and quality of the information available on Wikipedia, as well as similar websites on the Internet.

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