Politicians Attempt to Spin Wikipedia Listings

The Internet should present a variety of opinions… unless those opinions make you look bad or your opponents look good.

That’s been the approach of some in Congress who have recently been caught editing Wikipedia listings with a heavy hand.

Last week, the Lowell (Mass.) Sun reported that Rep. Marty Meehan’s (D-Mass.) staff admitted altering his listing to remove unflattering information, including a broken term-limit promise and his accumulation of $4.8 million in campaign funding, a figure far beyond that of any other House member.

In its ongoing investigation, Wikipedia has identified more that 1,000 partisan edits in the last six months from computers in House and Senate offices. Among the more caustic comments was one that noted Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) “was voted the most annoying Senator by his peers.” Another referred to both Coburn and presidential spokesman Scott McClellan as a “douche bag.” Wikipedia editors have responded by blocking certain addresses on the Capitol Hill computer network from making edits.

Add in a dash of the Valerie Plame affair and a pinch of President Bush’s PR shenanigans, and the message is clear — politicians still don’t get it. The Internet has created an environment where information will come to light, including information about censorship and bully politics. That’s the reality of the Internet age, and it’s a reality that politicians, businesses, communities and individuals will need to embrace if they hope to succeed in the public’s eyes.