Wikipedia speaks truth. It’s a matter of fact. If it’s on the Wiki, then it must be a truthism.

It’s hard in such an anonymous community like the “internets” to keep people accountable for their works…their statements…etc. However, it has been done:

Wikipedia Scanner — the brainchild of CalTech computation and neural-systems graduate student Virgil Griffith — offers users a searchable database that ties millions of anonymous Wikipedia edits to organizations where those edits apparently originated, by cross-referencing the edits with data on who owns the associated block of internet IP addresses.

Inspired by news last year that Congress members’ offices had been editing their own entries, Griffith says he got curious, and wanted to know whether big companies and other organizations were doing things in a similarly self-interested vein.

“Everything’s better if you do it on a huge scale, and automate it,” he says with a grin.

This database is possible thanks to a combination of Wikipedia policies and (mostly) publicly available information.

The online encyclopedia allows anyone to make edits, but keeps detailed logs of all these changes. Users who are logged in are tracked only by their user name, but anonymous changes leave a public record of their IP address.

Anonymity seems to have backfired. So what’s the first thing that I do? Click through to the Democrats. That organization built around a moral vacuum, they must have a sordid history with Wikipedia! Not really…I don’t see Dem or Repub staffers being computer savy. Sorry…they just don’t do…normal. So, they did edit Rush Limbaugh’s site back in 05…but it’s probably just a intern trying to be funny. However, recently the Democrats have edited Apple’s WIKI to say…bad things?! Gasp!!!

There are also several instances of Apple creating advertisements that bear uncanny resemblance to already existing works. Apple’s little problem with ripping off artists

Hotair has a rundown as well…and the comments of course are going to be more numerous, and frankly…funnier than mine.

Now, the question is, in a web community where the Wikipedia changes are driven by the users…if corporations, political parties, etc. are part of that community, is there anything wrong with them acting in their own self interest to either protect, or promote their companies?

I think no.

Posted by The Stout Republican on Tuesday, August 14th, 2007 at 10:11 am.