Fun with Wiki Scanner! Senate and Congress wiki revisions

onAug 23, 2007 @ 13:19 PDT

Last week I highlighted a brilliant piece of programming called Wiki Scanner, which cross-reference known IP addresses with revisions to Wikipedia entries.

For example, an astute Wiki Scanner found that someone using a computer with an ExxonMobil IP address revised the entry for the Valdez oil spill. Whoever was using the ExxonMobil IP address edited the Valdez entry in a way that downplayed the environmental devastation it caused.

So here’s some interesting things we’ve been able to find so far using Wiki Scanner:

Someone using an US Senate IP address made the following edit to the Wikipedia entry for “global warming:” (deleted text in red)

However, [[list of scientists opposing global warming consensus|qualified scientists]] contest the view that humanity’s actions have played a significant role in increasing recent temperatures. Uncertainties do exist regarding how much climate change should be expected in the future, as well as how much natural cycles and solar variability play a role. There is a hotly contested political and public debate exists over what actions, if any, should be taken in light of global warming and economic costs associated with such actions.

Someone using an US Senate IP address changed the entry for Senator Ted Stevens to say:

“Stevens, once an avowed skeptic of [[anthropogenic climate change]], since the beginning of 2007 has been actively supporting legislation to combat climate change”

Instead of:

Stevens, once an avowed skeptic of [[anthropogenic global warming]], since the beginning of 2007 has been actively supporting legislation to combat global warming.

Someone using an IP address registered to the US House of Representatives added the following line to the Wiki entry for “battery electric vehicle” and uses the auto-industry funded Competitive Enterprise Institute as the source:

“Some critics, however, contend that lack of consumer response and protection of copyrights were the reasons why the cars were destroyed and taken off the market. [See http://www.cei.org/gencon/003,05415.cfm]”

While there weren’t many revisions to terms relating to global warming and climate, someone with a Congress IP address spent an inordinate amount of time revising the Wikipedia entries for “dimples” and “cleft chin.”

On a more scandalous (and explicit) note, Congress IP addresses have been recorded making edits to the Wikipedia entries for “pegging,” “fluffing” and “Dick Nasty.”

By Kevin Grandia

Kevin is a contributor and strategic adviser to DeSmog. He runs the digital marketing agency Spake Media House. Named a “Green Hero” by Rolling Stone Magazine and one of the “Top 50 Tweeters” on climate change and environment issues, Kevin has appeared in major news media outlets around the world for his work on digital campaigning. Kevin has been involved in the public policy arena in both the United States and Canada for more than a decade. For five years he was the managing editor of DeSmogBlog.com. In this role, Kevin’s research into the “climate denial industry” and the right-wing think tank networks was featured in news media articles around the world. He is most well known for his ground-breaking research into David and Charles Koch’s massive financial investments in the Republican and tea party networks. Kevin is the first person to be designated a “Certified Expert” on the political and community organizing platform NationBuilder. Prior to DeSmog, Kevin worked in various political and government roles. He was Senior Advisor to the Minister of State for Multiculturalism and a Special Assistant to the Minister of State for Asia Pacific, Foreign Affairs for the Government of Canada. Kevin also worked in various roles in the British Columbia provincial government in the Office of the Premier and the Ministry of Health. In 2008 Kevin co-founded a groundbreaking new online election tool called Vote for Environment which was later nominated for a World Summit Award in recognition of the world’s best e-Content and innovative ICT applications. Kevin moved to Washington, DC in 2010 where he worked for two years as the Director of Online Strategy for Greenpeace USA and has since returned to his hometown of Vancouver, Canada.