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British Politicians Delete Negative Wikipedia Descriptions Before Election
EwanPalmer writes: The Wikipedia pages of dozens of UK politicians had references to sex scandals, fraud and opposition to same sex marriage removed in the run up to the UK general election. Dozens of MPs had negative aspects of their online biographies removed or altered prior to the election in a bid to make them more electable. The changes include several instances of MPs' expense claim scandals being removed, as well as details of arrests and the use of 'chauffeur-driven cars.' The edits were made using computers with IP addresses registered from inside Parliament.
come on Slashdot, you can do better.
I've noticed in the past that most of those white-washing edits, especially when they're done by anonymous IPs, tend to get reverted by registered editors, so that the white-washing isn't that much of an issue.
I've learned that they're worthless, so I don't read AC comments anymore.
It is tough, but fair.
references to sex scandals, fraud and opposition to same sex marriage were removed
C'mon, voters don't really care about fraud.
Better get Mark Bernstein
on the case! He'll White Knight any female politician and keep her page sparkly clean from "vandalism" and all those opposition "trolls".
Not my first source for information about a politician because of thee shape shifting nature of the pages.
Access to information is the greatest threat to rule of crooks and despots, which is why it is frowned upon in so many closed counties.
In the West? Chances are very few people will be reseacrhing online inside the voting booth. Do your homework before election day.
Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.
Ernest Hemingway
such an example for our kids? meanwhile;; 1000s of our genuine spiritual & physical allys (momkind, spirit of creation) worldwide continue dying daily from 100% preventable starvation, rockets red glare, babys bursting in air etc... still no one is responsible,, or even aware.. never a better time to consider ourselves in relation to one another & the spirit of creation momkind?. truth+mercy=justice,, almost as foolproof as the language of the heart? rock on /. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-kA3UtBj4M
What else would you expect from the corrupt British?
'There is a Party slogan dealing with the control of the past,' he said. 'Repeat it, if you please.'
'"Who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past,"' repeated Winston obediently.
And you think politicians from other countries will keep their "negative" details? Ah!
Sent as ripples into the electromagnetic field. No single photon has been harmed in the process.
With all the talk going on around UK's adult content policies, it was only natural to remove some social-centric articles which directly impact on public opinion. It just doesn't seem like the British thing to do, does it?
Well, I guess the way they are heading, any censorship is good censorship. Might as well make it a totalitarian state sooner better than later. How anyone in there is outraged that the EU is eye-browing such policies, that is the actual surprise... But then again, who would want freedom of speech, when freedom of speech can have such influence on these fascists jobs? It's understandable that state entities such as the parliament are editing wikipedia. Wouldn't you do anything it takes to keep your salary? Especially if such censorship action happens to coincide with your political view? Man I know I would. If my first name was Adolf and my last name rimmed with shittler I definitely would.
n/t
The root of the problem is people using Wikipedia as a research resource in its own right. It's very helpful for uncontroversial facts but horrible for anything even slightly politically charged. Wikipedia is filled with power hungry POV pushing scum in denial. The solution isn't to fix Wikipedia, it's far beyond fixing. The solution is to take anything you read on Wikipedia with a whole shaker of salt. Do real research.
If video games influenced behavior the Pac Man generation would be eating pills and running away from their problems.
This is hardly news, what makes people think that British politicians are any less corrupt and slimy than American politicians, or Russian ones, or ... (name any country in the world). Just like America, nothing will be done about it. People will wring their hands and say "Something must be done", and in a week forget all about it once the next scandal hits the press.
Politician is just another word for criminal.
that usally goes well for anyone using it.
by TheSpoom (715771) Uncaring Linux user here. I have nothing to add to this but please continue. *munches popcorn*
from these chaps.
(practicing my UK English)
This is why I dislike the concept of electronic books. The distributer having a way to edit all the books a la the Hitchhikers' Guide (or Wikipedia) will provide a perverse incentive to eventually edit history. The politicians have proved this time and again with written books.
If anyone can put anything in, then anyone can take anything out.
Deal With It.
When Fascism comes to America, it will call itself Anti-Fascism, and tell you to give up your guns.
Is anyone ever held accountable for libelous information in Wikipedia? Has there ever been any lawsuits over false information?
When Fascism comes to America, it will call itself Anti-Fascism, and tell you to give up your guns.
The Wikipedia pages of dozens of UK politicians had references to sex scandals, fraud and opposition to same sex marriage removed in the run up to the UK general election.
Ok, I get why a politician would want the other things removed, but why remove your opposition to same sex marriage? While I personally support the idea of marriage equality, all of the politicians on this side of the pond that oppose it, do so openly and proudly. Are they trying to trick people into voting for them who would not otherwise because of the whole same sex marriage thing?
...Actually, that makes perfect sense. Nevermind, ignore me.
LOL at lumping "sex scandals" and "opposition to same sex 'marriage' " together...
Homosexuals are less than 2% of the population.
In countries which have homosexual 'marriage', only FIVE PERCENT of homosexuals have got 'married'.
So that's 0.05% of the population deciding that 99% of the population should have to redefine the word 'marriage' to include their mental illness.
Homosexuality is a paraphilia, just like all other paraphilias: paedophilia, amputee fetishists, etc.
Or are you saying that amputee fetishists are 'born that way'?
Sorry to make you THINK about this subject, of course, as I realise that thinking isn't required if you're going to just blindly follow whatever the JEW media tells you...
www.nazigassings.com
...you don't get blocked for edit-warring until there have been three successive reverts. If there's a handy list of the affected pages I'd be glad to hop in and revert a few of them, and then bow out and let someone else hop in if needed.
"How to Do Nothing," kids activities, back in print!
That's moot. They vote for the party, which is a vote for the leader of the party.
There is no guarantee that the leader of the party will remain the same. In the past the prime minister has changed between elections e.g. Thatcher, Blair etc. In fact even during the election there is no guarantee that the party leader will actually be elected: it is theoretically possible for a party to win the election and then have to find a new leader because the one they had lost their local seat. This certainly happens with the smaller parties: UKIP's leader did not get elected in the recent election even though others of his party did.
Humans are the problem.
Knowledge sources can only be built through networking efforts which actively strive for truth at all cost, self-police of its membership, values multiple viewpoints in the understanding that one person is powerless to perceive reality in its totality, and is prepared to take ego hits as members put truth and knowledge ahead of personal whimsy.
The human world at large is a cauldron, or more accurately, a crucible evidently designed to purify human psyche and spirit. The action of heating and cooling through explosive action and reaction, serves to burn away the impurities over time and allow the desired qualities to slowly crystalize.
The world is a machine. A system. A soul mill.
As it happens, there is a regular and huge amount of low grade human "material" being poured in. Low grade human materials have yet to figure out the core challenge of apprehending and accepting objective reality as it stands, that there is a universe outside of and independent of the self, and that lying at the top of one's lungs, (and keyboards), is ultimately an act of nihilism.
Those that don't learn this, vanish, and those that do, eventually have it burned away.
Wikipedia is open to the whole of the the grist, so it cannot help but be a useless source of noise on any sensitive subject. Essentially, it allows the spiritual equivalent of tantrum-throwing children the same editorial power as wizened elders. How can that possibly become a reliable reservoir of pure knowledge?
This is self-evident and it is surprising that the project for an open encyclopedia was even attempted. It was doomed from the start to be exactly as we see it today.
Yet it serves an object purpose. It was and continues to be an amazing experiment which teaches people the necessity of being vigilant and focused and humble in their search for truth -if they at all want it.
Conversely, it also demonstrates the ultimate futility of trying to control the universe by lying; though this is a more selective lesson which is lost on the liars.
Coming to a Clinton near you!
Life is in a state of dynamic equilibrium, it both blows and sucks
Possible solution; any edits to pages covering sensitive topics (maybe all of them) are not immediately removed from view, but rather highlighted on the page with boilerplate saying this text was removed as part of an edit and will no longer be shown in X days. So, if anyone tried to whitewash/spin a page in the lead up to an election it is glaringly obvious and utterly defeats the purpose of doing so. Any further out and I'd hope the editors can put the content back in in time.
Given the left-wing, politically correct crowd that now controls Wikipedia, perhaps these politicians (humans) are trying to protect themselves just like you would want to do. It is quite tiring to have endless neutral facing negative descriptions for those that are deemed incorrect.