# Diebold deletes Diebold-critical material from Wikipedia **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 14, 2007, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diebold-deletes-diebold-critical-material-from-wikipedia/415602 "2007-08-14T20:25:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2007, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diebold-deletes-diebold-critical-material-from-wikipedia/415602/1 "2007-08-14T20:25:27Z")
Story [here,](http://www.wired.com/politics/onlinerights/news/2007/08/wiki_tracker) in _Wired._ But it took almost two years for anybody to catch on. Thanx is due to CalTech grad student Virgil Griffith, who built the [Wikipedia scanner](http://wikiscanner.virgil.gr/) to track this kind of edits via their originating IP. Of course, it occurs to me that this could still be done undetected – an exec would just have to make the desired edits from an anonymous terminal at a public library or cybercafe. The endless struggle between defensive and offensive capabilities continues. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2007, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diebold-deletes-diebold-critical-material-from-wikipedia/415602/2 "2007-08-14T20:49:54Z")
While I don’t doubt that businesses and politicians do edits to make themselves look good (or less bad), they are also the targets of garbage postings by enemies with axes to grind. Awhile back on GD I noted a case where the head of a anti-medical fraud website was the subject of a largely unflattering Wikipedia bio, which (it turned out) had been heavily edited by an opponent involved in a bitter lawsuit with this man. Wikipedia’s system of anonymous editing makes it a highly suspect source when it comes to controversial subjects. Lots of people apparently want to create alternate realities to suit themselves. ---
**Author:** ![buttonjockey308](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@buttonjockey308](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buttonjockey308)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2007, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diebold-deletes-diebold-critical-material-from-wikipedia/415602/3 "2007-08-14T23:29:17Z")
This just in…HUGE CORPORATION WITH GOVERNMENT TIES NIXES BAD PRESS!!! Coming up after the break, bear reported shitting in the woods, we send our channel 12 investigative team to get the INSIDE STORY. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sophistry_and_Illusion)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2007, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diebold-deletes-diebold-critical-material-from-wikipedia/415602/4 "2007-08-14T23:39:56Z")
Wikipedia periodically has to block congressional addresses from editing Wiki pages b/c of the partisan bullshit that congressional offices pull on each other. [Linky-loo.](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4695376.stm) ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2007, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diebold-deletes-diebold-critical-material-from-wikipedia/415602/5 "2007-08-15T00:07:19Z")
So? They have the same right to edit wiki as we do. They likely thought the material was not factual or backed with cites (and that could well be true), so they edited it. ---
**Author:** ![netsplit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecc23a/32.png) [@netsplit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/netsplit)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2007, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diebold-deletes-diebold-critical-material-from-wikipedia/415602/6 "2007-08-15T00:14:01Z")
[QUOTE=buttonjockey308] This just in…HUGE CORPORATION WITH GOVERNMENT TIES NIXES BAD PRESS!!! [/QUOTE] More like asshole fraudulent corporation vandalizes. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2007, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diebold-deletes-diebold-critical-material-from-wikipedia/415602/7 "2007-08-15T00:56:35Z")
Tomorrow’s news story? “Controversial Edits to Wikipedia Entries Made Through Anonymous Proxy Servers” ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2007, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diebold-deletes-diebold-critical-material-from-wikipedia/415602/8 "2007-08-15T02:08:40Z")
IIRC, doesn’t Wiki keep a copy of the edited versions and such? ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2007, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diebold-deletes-diebold-critical-material-from-wikipedia/415602/9 "2007-08-15T02:19:05Z")
[QUOTE=Guinastasia] IIRC, doesn’t Wiki keep a copy of the edited versions and such? [/QUOTE] They keep all kinds of older versions; you can go back through them and look at the changes. I’m not sure if they have a limit on how many changes are archived. ---
**Author:** ![zut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zut/32/2875_2.png) [@zut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zut)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2007, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diebold-deletes-diebold-critical-material-from-wikipedia/415602/10 "2007-08-15T10:46:05Z")
Quite a few. In fact, you can take a look at [the edits in question.](http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Diebold&offset=20060322004142&action=history) Interestingly, it looks like the Wikipeople were on the ball, the timeline goes something like: 10:20 PM: Someone from Diebold deletes criticism. 10:21 PM: The same Diebold person deletes more unflattering material. 10:21 PM: A Wikipedian restores the deleted material. 10:21 PM: The same Diebold person deletes more unflattering material. 10:22 PM: The same Wikipedian restores the deleted material. 10:24 PM: The same Diebold person re-deletes all the unflattering material. 10:25 PM: The same Wikipedian restores the deleted material. 10:30 PM: Someone else (probably the same Diebold person, now with a username) re-deletes all the unflattering material. 10:40 PM: Another Wikipedian restores the deleted material. …And then, apparently, the Diebold person gives up. So we’re talking about a twenty-minute span here, after which everything was exactly like it was before. ---
**Author:** ![Slypork](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc29f/32.png) [@Slypork](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slypork)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2007, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diebold-deletes-diebold-critical-material-from-wikipedia/415602/11 "2007-08-15T13:47:22Z")
OK we have [Dems targetting Limbaugh](http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/aug/15/wikipedia.corporateaccountability?gusrc=rss&feed=networkfront), the CIA cleaning up Reagan’s article and Diebold trying to make themselves look good. And high school students wonder why their teachers won’t let them use Wikipedia as a reference in the bibliography of their reports? As long as anyone can edit an article then you can never have [del]Fair and Balanced[/del] objective and accurate information. I could probably get better facts from **The Onion**. ---
**Author:** ![ForumBot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ee59a6/32.png) [@ForumBot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ForumBot)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2007, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diebold-deletes-diebold-critical-material-from-wikipedia/415602/12 "2007-08-15T14:09:47Z")
Woo! That’s my buddy, Virgil, who wrote that. He also got in trouble for blowing a hole in Blackboard a few years back and exposing some serious security vulnerabilities. Glad to see he’s doing great things. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2007, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diebold-deletes-diebold-critical-material-from-wikipedia/415602/13 "2007-08-15T14:22:50Z")
[Penny Arcade](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Penny_Arcade_comic-20051216h.jpg) says it all. ---
**Author:** ![buttonjockey308](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@buttonjockey308](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buttonjockey308)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2007, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diebold-deletes-diebold-critical-material-from-wikipedia/415602/14 "2007-08-15T18:31:51Z")
[QUOTE=netsplit] More like asshole fraudulent corporation vandalizes. [/QUOTE] Potaytoe-potahto ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2007, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diebold-deletes-diebold-critical-material-from-wikipedia/415602/15 "2007-08-15T18:48:50Z")
[QUOTE=Steve MB] [Penny Arcade](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Penny_Arcade_comic-20051216h.jpg) says it all. [/QUOTE] Nuh-uh. [Unspeakable Vault](http://www.macguff.fr/goomi/unspeakable/vault231.html) ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2007, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diebold-deletes-diebold-critical-material-from-wikipedia/415602/16 "2007-08-15T20:54:06Z")
Update: [Fox News caught editing Al Franken’s Wikipedia entry.](http://openleft.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=784) ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2007, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diebold-deletes-diebold-critical-material-from-wikipedia/415602/17 "2007-08-15T21:52:29Z")
[QUOTE=erie774] OK we have [Dems targetting Limbaugh](http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/aug/15/wikipedia.corporateaccountability?gusrc=rss&feed=networkfront), the CIA cleaning up Reagan’s article and Diebold trying to make themselves look good. And high school students wonder why their teachers won’t let them use Wikipedia as a reference in the bibliography of their reports? As long as anyone can edit an article then you can never have [del]Fair and Balanced[/del] objective and accurate information. I could probably get better facts from **The Onion**. [/QUOTE] Well, bear in mind that many reports are done on non-controversial topics, not current politics. I daresay that someone writing about _One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest_ would be able to rely on Wikipedia for some information. Iran-Contra, maybe not so much. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2007, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diebold-deletes-diebold-critical-material-from-wikipedia/415602/18 "2007-08-15T23:07:45Z")
It appears some journalist at the NY Times changed “pianist” to “penis” here. > **[Condoleezza Rice](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Condoleezza_Rice&diff=prev&oldid=15725782)** > > Condoleezza Rice (/ˌkɒndəˈliːzə/ KON-də-LEE-zə; born November 14, 1954) is an American diplomat and political scientist who is the current director of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. A member of the Republican Party, she previously served as the 66th United States secretary of state from 2005 to 2009 and as the 19th U.S. national security advisor from 2001 to 2005. Rice was the first female African-American secretary of state and the first woman to serve as national security adv... And it appears a journalist at the BBC changed Bush’s middle name to “wanker” here. > **[George W. Bush](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=George_W._Bush&diff=prev&oldid=9152976)** > > George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 46th governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000. > The eldest son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush and a member of the Bush family, he flew warplanes in the Texas Air National Guard in his twenties. After graduating from Harvard Business School in 1975, he worked in the oil industry. He later co-... Looks like somebody from the UN called the late Orianna Falacci a “racist whore”. > **[Oriana Fallaci](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?diff=prev&oldid=38791682)** > > Oriana Fallaci (.mw-parser-output .IPA-label-small{font-size:85%}.mw-parser-output .references .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .infobox .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .navbox .IPA-label-small{font-size:100%}Italian: \[oˈrjaːna falˈlaːtʃi\]; 29 June 1929 – 15 September 2006) was an Italian journalist and author. A partisan during World War II, she had a long and successful journalistic career. Fallaci became famous worldwide for her coverage of war and revolution, and her "long, aggressive... ---
**Author:** ![ArizonaTeach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/45deac/32.png) [@ArizonaTeach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArizonaTeach)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2007, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diebold-deletes-diebold-critical-material-from-wikipedia/415602/19 "2007-08-16T04:34:12Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] Update: [Fox News caught editing Al Franken’s Wikipedia entry.](http://openleft.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=784) [/QUOTE] I ask this out of honest curiosity, but based on the phrasing of what you posted, do you feel outrage at the Democratic Party insultingly editing Limbaugh’s entry, and calling his listeners “legally retarded?” ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2007, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diebold-deletes-diebold-critical-material-from-wikipedia/415602/20 "2007-08-16T14:56:43Z")
[QUOTE=ArizonaTeach] I ask this out of honest curiosity, but based on the phrasing of what you posted, do you feel outrage at the Democratic Party insultingly editing Limbaugh’s entry, and calling his listeners “legally retarded?” [/QUOTE] Yes. (But, in all honesty, outrage mixed with smirking . . . ) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diebold-deletes-diebold-critical-material-from-wikipedia/415602.md?page=2)