NPR on VP Nominee Sarah Palin’s Wikipedia Entry
All Things Considered on National Public Radio interviewed Wikipedia editor Justen Deal (Justen seems to be Wikipedia user j. Nice initial!) for a piece about Alaska governor Sarah Palin’s entry and recent edits to it. Did someone unintentionally leak the news of US presidential Republican candidate John McCain selecting her as his running mate via Wikipedia?
The exact identity of the contributor is unknown (according to NPR), but the account was only used to edit her article, the name is coincidentally similar to her son’s name, and the account owner seems to know a lot about Palin. The actions, of course, were a red flag. Editing the entry has now been appropriately restricted. The NPR segment explains in more detail why the editing is problematic and restrictions on contributing to articles. (At least the person bothered to establish an account. That’s a very good start.)
Remember when the political + Wikipedia stories were more along the lines of “Hey, there’s campaign information in Wikipedia!” and less along the lines of candidates and politicians or their own staff members editing their entries?
Oddly enough, I learned about McCain’s vice presidential choice through this story about Wikipedia. I heard the encyclopedia’s name on the radio and my ears perked up.
Addendum 9/1: Brian Krebs covers this issue in The Washington Post.
