Sunday, July 15, 2012

Christine Quinn Caught Engaged In Wikipedia Rewriting

New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn has been busted using taxpayer resources (the City Council communications office) to do sneaky public relations work by altering the speaker's vanity Wikipedia page, and the editors of Wikipedia have placed a ''conflict of interest'' badge on her page, indicating the the information on her page may not be trustworthy.

Inside City Hall : Mayoral Hopefuls Diligently Monitor and Alter Wikipedia Pages

From The New York Post :

The City Council communications office on Nov. 23 made 11 changes to council Speaker Christine Quinn’s life story on Wikipedia.

Most were minor, explaining for example that she graduated Trinity College, not just attended it.

There was also updated news from The Post that a federal investigation of the widely-publicized “slush fund” controversy was over.

Somehow, the revision removed all mention of the controversy, in which the council parked $17 million in discretionary money meant for real organizations under fictitious group names — one of the most embarrassing chapters in the council’s history.

Along the way, another entry was removed — one that accused Quinn of being impolite for chewing gum during speeches and of approving a 40 percent budget cut to the office of the Public Advocate in 2009.

“It is our job to provide the most accurate, up-to-date and complete information about every member of the New York City Council,” said Quinn spokesman Jamie McShane.

The wonder of Wikipedia is that anyone can edit its entries, which is why lots of politicians spend considerable time adding and subtracting on their own.

Read more : City pols rewriting records : Wiki-sneaks ‘fix’ their pages

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