From Mashable:
An anonymous Wikipedia user from an IP address that is registered to United States Senate has tried, and failed, to remove a phrase with the word “torture” from the website’s article on the Senate Intelligence Committee’s blockbuster CIA torture report.
The unknown individual has attempted on at least two occasions ? first on Dec. 9 and then on Dec. 10 ? to remove a line describing the CIA’s enhanced interrogation techniques as “a euphemism for torture.”
The anonymous editor claimed to be “removing bias” from the article in both attempts.?Each time was overturned by Wikipedia.
The question is, why is someone trying to make these “random” little edits to Wikipedia??Mashable suggests that:
“Wikipedia appears to be the latest battleground over public opinion as many, now, ponder the legalities of some of the more aggressive techniques used by CIA officers during the decade-long war on terror.”
It seems odd, though, doesn’t it? Erasing something from Wikipedia in no way erases something from record. I mean, it’s….Wikipedia?– the online knowledge base that we all know and love. Love it though we may, however, it’s not even allowable for use in high school or college research papers.
We are able to follow these edit?attempts?thanks to a Twitter bot that tweets anonymous edits made from?U.S. Congress IP addresses.?Here is one of the?edit attempts.
The Twitter account @congressedits has been around since July 2014 and has given nearly?430 alerts of Wikipedia edit attempts by anonymous Senate staffers, officials, or volunteers on the government network.?Inspired by?@parliamentedits, which tracks changes made from the UK Parliament IP, the accounts are ?part of a community of bots that track “everything from anonymous edits made from Russian government IPs to those made by anonymous staffers at the world’s top media organizations.”
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Tiffany Willis is a fifth-generation Texan and the founder and editor-in-chief of Liberal America. An unapologetic member of the Christian Left, she has spent most of her career actively working with ?the least of these? and disadvantaged and oppressed populations. She’s passionate about their struggles. To stay on top of topics she discusses,?like her?Facebook page,?follow her on Twitter, or?connect with her via LinkedIn. She also has?a?grossly neglected personal blog?and a?literary quotes blog that is a labor of love. Find her somewhere and join the discussion.
