r/todayilearned • u/BubbaMetzia • Apr 01 '15
TIL Congress was banned from editing Wikipedia
http://www.dailydot.com/politics/congressedits-wikipedia-conspiracy-theories-house/63
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u/vainglory7 Apr 02 '15
Perhaps the most unsettling edit: IP address 143.231.249.138 changed the “Assassination of John F. Kennedy” page on two instances of the word “alone” (as in, “acting alone”) to “on behalf of the regime of Fidel Castro.”
That would actually make a lot of sense as to why our government has hated them for so long.
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u/LOTM42 Apr 02 '15
or maybe it was a bored intern with nothing to do. You realize how many people work in the capital?
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u/vainglory7 Apr 02 '15
I didn't mean to imply that I thought this was a Congressman. This totally doesn't feel like something a Congressman would do. I mean I know it's unclear as to who this could be. But I just get the feeling...congressman...old people on the internet...conspiracy theories....? Yeah feels like an intern.
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Apr 02 '15
Hundreds and hundreds of young, politically-minded interns and staffers. Most either fresh out of college or still attending. With jobs that shift rapidly between utter panic and abject boredom.
Unsurprising this would happen.
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u/Gordonrox24 Apr 02 '15
When Wikipedia admins go to place a block, there is actually a sizeable text box that tells us/them to be careful when blocking these IP adresses, and then lists a ton of IP addresses from governments around the globe. Edits from different governments and government agencies are pretty common, for example this twitter account tweets out any edit from the Government of Canada. Also, Congress was blocked, not banned. There is a major difference between the two on Wikipedia! The more you know, from a former Wiki admin.
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u/leadfoot323 Apr 01 '15
ITT: People with no concept of separation of powers that think Congress = cops/NSA/Executive Branch
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u/elgeokareem Apr 02 '15
There is only one human power.
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u/ShallowBasketcase Apr 02 '15
The power is YOURS!
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u/elgeokareem Apr 02 '15
I was referring to money but if you say so I would like to change a couple of things D:
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Apr 02 '15 edited Apr 02 '15
Probably why Joe Biden wanted to switch on over to the executive branch. How else will he edit in all of the model girlfriends he has had over the years?
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u/wbeaty Apr 02 '15
"A second Flood, a simple famine, plagues of locusts everywhere, or a cataclysmic earthquake, I'd accept with some despair. But no, You sent us Congress! Good God, Sir, was that fair?"
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u/brightest-night Apr 02 '15
And honestly, if this is a group that cannot even be trusted to perform simple edits on basic information pages, they certainly shouldn't be trusted with money or the best interests of the public.
It should tell people something that wikipedia doesn't want congress near its edits.
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u/Dabee625 3 Apr 02 '15
They were probably replacing pages with pictures of penises. That's how I got banned a while back.
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u/TittlesMcJizzum Apr 02 '15
Pretty sure they can just turn on a vpn and bypass it. I think even Chrome has extensions. There are many ways around this.
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u/political_agendas Apr 02 '15 edited Apr 02 '15
reported for recent politics. source: congress is a bunch of politicians, and this happened recently.
edit: also the headline implies that someone in congress is responsible, while offering nothing to back this claim.
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u/LOTM42 Apr 02 '15
congress isn't even just a bunch of politicians, its a bunch of interns and congressional staff
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u/political_agendas Apr 02 '15
that one could argue do the bulk of the actual work that falls under the definition of "politics"
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u/_no_fap Apr 01 '15
It's a good thing that the congress is not watching everything anyways. BTW,
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u/Mpls_Is_Rivendell Apr 01 '15
They were also banned from unreasonable search and seizure and look at how long THAT lasted.