Saturday, April 29, 2006

Dirty Tricks on the Internet

Remember, folks, any smuck can put up a web page by clicking on "Save As..."; apparently any smuck can also edit the Wiki.

"ATLANTA -     Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia that can be altered by anyone with a computer, has proved remarkably useful for pulling political dirty tricks.

Political operatives are covertly rewriting — or defacing — candidates' biographical entries to make the boss look good or the opponent look ridiculous.

As a result, political campaigns are monitoring the Web site more closely than ever this election year.

Revisions made by Capitol Hill staffers became so frequent and disruptive earlier this year that Wikipedia temporarily blocked access to the site from some congressional Internet addresses. The pranks included bumping up the age of the Senate's oldest member, West Virginia's Robert Byrd, from 88 to 180, and giving crude names to other lawmakers.

The entry for Democratic Rep. Jim Marshall (news, bio, voting record) of Georgia labeled him "too liberal" for his state, in part because of a contribution he received from a political action committee run by Sen.  Hillary Rodham Clinton. The man who doctored Marshall's biography now works for his Republican challenger. . ."

More here.

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