The sanitation of Wiki

[Chantel]

PM's staff sanitise Wikipedia
Friday Aug 24 09:09 AEST

The prime minister's staff have been editing Wikipedia to remove details that might be damaging to the government.

Staff in the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet have made 126 edits on subjects ranging from the children overboard affair to the Treasurer Peter Costello, Fairfax reports.

A new website - Wikiscanner - traces the digital fingerprints of those who make changes to entries in the online encyclopedia.

The website points to the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet as the source of the edits.

Wikiscanner also identifies Department of Defence employees as the most prolific Wikipedia contributors in Australia.

Wikipedia is promoted as the "free encyclopedia that anyone can edit".

The Department of Defence on Thursday said it would ban defence staff from accessing the encyclopedia.

Defence computers were found to have made more than 5000 edits to Wikipedia entries, including articles to the "9/11 truth movement", the Australian Defence Force Academy and the Vietnam War-era Pentagon papers.

Federal Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd has described as "odd" news reports that Mr Howard's departmental staff have been caught editing Wikipedia to remove details that might be damaging to the government.

"I notice the prime minister is engaging public servants to change Wikipedia," Mr Rudd told the Seven Network.

[Hitman]

[BJN]

Sieg heil!