Politicians' Wikipedia shame
Updated on 16 August 2007
How we learned that the Conservative party thinks warthogs smell of poo
But Wikipedia does track who makes each edit, and Wikiscanner, a new tool launched on the internet yesterday, makes it much easier to find out who has changed what.
For example, looking at the unique internet address - called an IP address - registered by Conservative Central Office (194.203.158.97) produces a fascinating list of edits.
Some are minor corrections to articles on various subjects of interest. Theology features prominently and there are changes to legislative subjects, and the history of the posh gentleman's club, the Carlton.
There were some amusing edits to the life of NFL Quarterback Jim Finn. Someone added this to his profile: "It is ironic that he was drafted by the Bears because many fans contend that he is, in fact, a bear."
Someone added the word 'lozenge' to the list of English words without rhymes. No wonder some Conservatives are worrying that the party isn't focused.
Conservative politicians also appear. Someone deleted various unflattering (and potentially libellous) references to Oliver Letwin, but also this paragraph:
"During the campaign for the UK general election in 2001, Letwin, as shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, expressed an aspiration to curtail future public spending by fully 20 billion pounds per annum relative to the plans of the Labour government.
"When this proposal came under attack as regressive, Letwin found few allies among his colleagues prepared to defend it, and adopted a low profile for the remainder of the campaign."
There are also minor corrections to the pages on Norman Lamont and Anne Widdecombe.
But the other edits also cast fascinating light on the interests of Conservative Party staffers. They include minor edits to the Saatchi and Saatchi profile (Maurice Saatchi was formerly joint chair of the Conservative Party) and Greggs the baker's shop.
There were a couple of changes to the entry on the orgiastic secret society, the Hellfire Club, and a helpful grammatical correction to the profile of the repressive Turkmen dictator Saparmurat Niyazov.
Someone added the word 'lozenge' to the list of English words without rhymes. No wonder some Conservatives are worrying that the party isn't focused enough on winning the next election.
Someone corrected the entry on Nightingale Island to note that it's "a British Overseas Territory" - good to see the flag of empire still flying somewhere.
Someone made a change to David Amess's profile to clarify his involvement in asking a question about the fictional drug 'cake' in the satirical programme Brass Eye in 1999. He claims he was referring to something called 3,4-methylenedioxy-N-benzylamphetamine.
But most brilliantly, on 11 August 2006, someone used the Conservative Central Office computers to update the entry on baby warthogs to add the words 'they also smell of poo'.
Browse Conservative Central Office's contribution to human knowledge here.
...and over at Labour HQ
A relatively modest stream of edits comes from the Labour Party's IP address range. Just three, all very recent - though there may well be others out there to be found.
Someone has deleted an extremely unflattering paragraph about Welsh Assembly Member Jane Hutt, calling her "the biggest disaster to hit the NHS in Wales's recent history".
And another person at that address has amended the article on footballer Neil Lennon with... "and will forever be a Celtic legend - You'll Never Walk Alone."
