Wiki-scandal

[Humpty]

Never deliberately gone to a Wiki site as yet but may have a look.

One American student sent major corporations, governments and even the Vatican on the defensive after coming up with Wikipedia Scanner, a software program that reveals who changed Wikipedia entries.

Wikipedia.com is an online encyclopedia edited by general users, who write articles on every imaginable subject.

 

Since it is written by users, anyone can edit, delete and arrange the articles on Wikipedia.

What Virgil Griffith did was come up with a program that reveals who edits these articles, via a system where it scans the I.P address and cross-references it with the I.P. directory.

 

As soon as the software was launched on the internet, chaos erupted.

Among many revelations, Wikipedia Scanner reported that:

- Microsoft tried to cover up the XBOX 360 failure rate

 

- Apple edit Microsoft entries, adding more negative comments about its rival

 

- Bill Gates revenge? Microsoft edits Apple entries, adding more negative comments about its rival

 

- The Vatican edits Irish Catholic politician Gerry Adams page

 

- In the 9/11 Wikipedia article, the NRA added that ?Iraq was involved in 9/11?

 

- Exxon Mobil edits spillages and eco-system destruction from oil spillages article

 

- FBI edits Guantanamo Bay, removing numerous pictures

 

- Oil company ChevronTexaco removes informative biodiesel article and deletes a paragraph regarding fines against the company

 

- Scientology removes criticism and negatives article from Scientology page

 

- Al Jazeera TV station adds that the foundation of Iraq was just as bad as the Holocaust

 

- Amnesty International removes negative comments

 

- Dell Computers deletes negative comments on customer services and removes a passage how the company outsources work to third world countries

 

- MySpace removes paragraph when their website was hacked

 

- EA Games deletes whole paragraphs of criticism about employment practices and business methods

 

- Dog breeding association deletes whole paragraphs about fatal attacks by dogs on humans

 

- US Republican Party changes the "Post-Saddam" section of the Baath Party article to a different account of the war, changing the language from "US-led occupation" to "US-led liberation"

 

- Fox News removes all controversial topics against the network from the Fox News page

Article and more edits

[rridgely]

Yeah I'm not surprised by this one bit. When anyone can edit the pages who knows what will happen.

I've pretty much given up on wikipidedia anyway though. It started off being really good but as it got more popular I've noticed a real decline in the quality of some of the articles.(they are often not cited, biased, poorly written, ect.)

 

If you need a encyclopdedia on your computer Microsofts encrata is well worth the price especially for students. Its not even acceptable to cite wikipedia as a source anymore(which got pretty popular at first).

[Andavari]

This is classically very childish, albeit funny too:

- Apple edit Microsoft entries, adding more negative comments about its rival

 

- Bill Gates revenge? Microsoft edits Apple entries, adding more negative comments about its rival

[unsober]

This is classically very childish, albeit funny too:

haha Andavari, i actually laughed when i rid that bit.

Apple and Microsoft are so funny

[Talldog9]

childish corporations...