Wikipedia -- tracking down self-serving anonymous edits

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Mary Shaw <mary.shaw () gmail com>
Date: August 19, 2007 11:12:10 AM EDT
To: David Farber <dave () farber net>
Subject: Wikipedia -- tracking down self-serving anonymous edits

Dave,

Although Wikipedia is not -- by its very nature -- an authoritative  
source, many people treat it as if it were.

Now the vulnerabiilty of Wikipedia to self-serving edits has been  
made more visible.  Virgil Griffith, a grad student at Caltech, has  
created the Wikiscanner, which traces IP addresses of anonymous edits  
back to the organizations that hold the IP addresses.

Article from The Independent at http://news.independent.co.uk/ 
sci_tech/article2874112.ece has a long list of examples, such as "The  
National Rifle Association of America doctored concerns about its  
role in the increase in gun fatalities by replacing the passage with  
a reference to the association's conservation work in America. "

Article from New York Times at http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/19/ 
technology/19wikipedia.html? 
em&ex=1187668800&en=550ef6c65ceb3535&ei=5087%0A gives other examples.

Wikiscanner web site at http://wikiscanner.virgil.gr/ provides  
various sorts of search.

Mary


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