Someone at Diebold Deleted Some Negative Information on the Company S Voting Machines

September 3, 2007

Wikipedia now has a way to check on the so-called “insider editing” of its entries. At the site, wikiscanner.virgil.gr., computer science graduate student Virgil Griffith has set up the means for connecting the edits on a Wikipedia entry to whomever owns the computer network from which the entry was made. For example, a change at the SeaWorld Wikipedia entry transformed all use of the term “orcas” to “killer whales.” WikiScanner found that the entry was made from a computer at Anheuser-Busch, the company that owns SeaWorld. WikiScanner has also discovered the following corporate changes:

 Someone on the Wal-Mart system changed an entry on Wal-Mart’s compensation system  Someone at Diebold deleted some negative information on the company’s voting machines  Someone at ExxonMobil edited the tale of the Exxon Valdez spill

Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikipedia Foundation, refers to such edits as “conflict of interest” entries and that such entries are discouraged. Some companies, such as Exxon, prohibit employees from making corrections and entries on Wikipedia using company computers unless the company is aware and endorses the change or edit or correction. Mr. Wales says that the appropriate way to change entries for those with a conflict of interest would be to use the discussion centers available and make the case there for someone else to make the change. Mr. Wales does not see the correction of factual errors as a conflict, but does draw the line at issues that would be controversial, such as the change from “orcas” to “killer whales.” Mr. Griffeth has suggested that Wikipedia have a box that pops up when folks click edit that would tell them that others will know the computer source of the edit. Such a warning is a matter of fairness to the potential editor as well as a signal to use caution on any edits contemplated because the world is now able to know and watch who’s editing whom.

What do we learn about privacy and the Internet from the new scanning program? Had companies already anticipated similar issues with their policies? “Don’t do it,” or “Disclose it,” are the two general tools for managing conflicts of interest. Place the various policies and proposals on Wikipedia edits into these two categories.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Katie Hafner, “Lifting Corporate Fingerprints From the Editing of Wikipedia,” New York Times, August 19, 2007, pp. A1, A20.