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Wikipedia Censored To Protect Captive Reporter

Posted by kdawson on from the limits-to-openness dept.

AI writes with a story from the NY Times about a 7-month-long effort, largely successful, to keep news of a Times reporter's kidnapping off of Wikipedia. The Christian Science Monitor, the reporter David Rohde's previous employer, takes a harder look at the issues of censorship and news blackout, linking to several blogs critical of Wikipedia's actions. Rohde escaped from a Taliban compound, along with his translator, on Saturday. "For seven months, The New York Times managed to keep out of the news the fact that one of its reporters, David Rohde, had been kidnapped by the Taliban. But that was pretty straightforward compared with keeping it off Wikipedia. ... A dozen times, user-editors posted word of the kidnapping on Wikipedia's page on Mr. Rohde, only to have it erased. Several times the page was frozen, preventing further editing — a convoluted game of cat-and-mouse that clearly angered the people who were trying to spread the information of the kidnapping... The sanitizing was a team effort, led by Jimmy Wales, co-founder of Wikipedia, along with Wikipedia administrators and people at The Times."

4 of 414 comments (clear)

  1. The same NY Times by p51d007 · · Score: 0, Troll

    That can't wait to expose anything the U.S. military is doing, thereby putting the soldiers lives in jeopardy?

  2. Slashdotted by rockNme2349 · · Score: 0, Troll

    What? David Rohde was captured? Shit i better go post this on wikipedia.

    --
    Sewage Treatment Facilities - "Our duty is clear."
  3. Re:This was not censorship. by synthesizerpatel · · Score: 1, Troll

    Here are some pieces of information that I have no inherent right to:

    1. Your real name
    2. Your home address
    3. Your bank account number
    4. Your ATM PIN
    5. Your sexual orientation
    6. Names of medication you use
    7. Names of people whom you have had sex with
    8. Your medical history

    While some of this information may be publicly available, or amongst your friends and family common knowledge -- I have no right to know any of it.

    Would you be upset if wikipedia blocked someone from posting all these pieces of information about you? Or would you be jumping up and down about how great the internet is with it's free flow of information.

  4. Re:To keep him alive. by Achromatic1978 · · Score: 0, Troll

    You mean, another source that wasn't being leaned on? Hmmm, no, I can't see how there could be a flaw in that...