Today, Winston Smith would be editing Wikipedia pages

If George Orwell’s character Winston Smith were around today, his job at the Ministry of Truth would consist of a lot of time editing Wikipedia pages. The latest scrubbing truth from the records is the State of Florida:

“Newspaper: State Computers Used To Edit Wikipedia Pages”

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — People have used state-owned computers hundreds of times to make edits to the Web encyclopedia Wikipedia, ranging from the serious to the ridiculous, a newspaper reported Friday.

The edits were detailed by a new Web site that tracks changes to the publicly edited online encyclopedia, according to the St. Petersburg Times.

WikiScanner has been a media delight since it burst onto the scene this month, used to expose corporate mischief and political games in Washington, such as PCs in congressional offices being involved in Wikipedia entries trashing political rivals.

The Times found Internet Protocol, or IP, addresses attached to computers at state agencies and the Legislature that made Wikipedia edits.

“It doesn’t seem to me like the best use of a public servant’s time,” said Kevin Cate, spokesman for the Florida Department of Health, where computers have been used to edit at least 124 Wikipedia entries since 2004.

…

A user at the Florida Supreme Court made an edit to note that Yuengling is not only America’s oldest beermaker, but that it produces the “finest lager brewed in this country.”

…

In April, someone using a computer owned by the Legislature removed an entry on the page for Sen. Lee Constantine, R-Altamonte Springs. Anyone who drops by the page now will not learn that Constantine was arrested on a drunken driving charge in 2004.

History, it appears, is not just written by the victors. In the Internet age, it’s also rewritten by the losers. See who else is doing it at Wikiscanner.

–WKW