Here’s How to Know What Edits Governments Are Making on Wikipedia

Simply a brilliant tool

A group of new Twitter accounts is looking to shed light on a niche but surprisingly meaningful government action: Wikipedia edits.

Parliament WikiEdits (@parliamentedits) is a tweetbot that started last week to anonymously tweet out any Wikipedia edits made from U.K. Parliament IP addresses.
And the developer, Tom Scott made the bot's code open-source so others could set up similar accounts.

Here are the links to all current Twitter accounts of this type:

US Congress

Government of Canada, House of Commons & Department of National Defence

Australian Parliamentary Services

Swedish Government

This thread can also be the place to post interesting finds from these Twitter accounts.

Twitterbots Scan Government IP Addresses and Tweet Their Wikipedia Edit

If these edits are being broadcast via Twitter, it's because the government doesn't care if we know. Chances are, they wouldn't take such a mundane and easily monitored road when it comes to managing the data we really want to see. Otherwise, all such Twitter accounts would have been deleted and their creators dealt with, very quietly.

a reply to: AfterInfinity

If these edits are being broadcast via Twitter, it's because the government doesn't care if we know.

Or it's because they are arrogant in thinking that we're already brainwashed to the level that we don't care.
But there are some of us who still care and will always care.

Now we can see how informational wars are being waged in real time so to speak.

Here's one for ya on the Crimean crisis:

Before edit:

a territorial dispute between Russia and Ukraine.

After:

Although the region is a ''de jure'' part of Ukraine, control of the peninsula became the subject of the ongoing [[2014 Crimean crisis]], when the peninsula was illegally annexed by Russia.

Link

a reply to: zilebeliveunknown

Everybody should be reading the u.s congress tweets. Very interesting.

originally posted by: zilebeliveunknown
a reply to: AfterInfinity

If these edits are being broadcast via Twitter, it's because the government doesn't care if we know.

Or it's because they are arrogant in thinking that we're already brainwashed to the level that we don't care.
But there are some of us who still care and will always care.

Now we can see how informational wars are being waged in real time so to speak.

Here's one for ya on the Crimean crisis:

Before edit:

a territorial dispute between Russia and Ukraine.

After:

Although the region is a ''de jure'' part of Ukraine, control of the peninsula became the subject of the ongoing [[2014 Crimean crisis]], when the peninsula was illegally annexed by Russia.

Link

You are silly if you think they put amateurs in charge of information control. If there is something they don't want us to know, they sure as heck aren't going to show their hand that easily. If we see it, it's probably not important.

a reply to: zilebeliveunknown

Just because it is being done from a government IP address doesn't mean it is being done officially.

I've made plenty of edits on Wikipedia while on a work PC. That doesn't mean it was an officially sanctioned edit by my employer.

originally posted by: Rob48
a reply to: zilebeliveunknown

Just because it is being done from a government IP address doesn't mean it is being done officially.

I've made plenty of edits on Wikipedia while on a work PC. That doesn't mean it was an officially sanctioned edit by my employer.

Chances are, your employer would be a tad bit upset if you devoted such constructive energy to something other than what s/he pays you for. If, that is, s/he found out.

a reply to: Rob48

Just because it is being done from a government IP address doesn't mean it is being done officially.

It does mean for me, and I'm sure it's not allowed to use government resources for expressing one's own political ideas let alone in this manner, as governments represents all citizens equally.

a reply to: zilebeliveunknown
Civil servants goof off just as much as other people. Probably more so, actually

Do not EVER underestimate the power of simple words.

the unwashed masses LIVE for words, and tactfully done, can sway a majority of a country in any direction.

Think of common words as an ingredient of a spell. You weave those words in certain patters, and everyone stays asleep, and goes about happy as a clam.

This info, to the majority, is gospel, on wiki. So making strategic edits in places, CAN have an effect. Remember the term "propaganda".

"The pen is mightier then the sword." -Edward Bulwer-Lytton

originally posted by: Cygnis
Do not EVER underestimate the power of simple words.

Exactly! Thats why I wont allow a television into my home.

Even "awake" people can be influenced by hearing words, even if they dont believe those words.

More accounts emerging:

Israel

Chile

Reichstag (Germany)

Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) members

Irish

North Carolina General Assembly

congress-edits ‏@congressedits 3m
Nevada Test and Training Range Wikipedia article edited anonymously by US House of Representatives

Twitter

Added sentence:

In spite of allegations to the contrary, the claims that extraterrestrials are housed in this facility are completely unsubstantiated.

Wiki

originally posted by: zilebeliveunknown
...as governments represents all citizens equally.

Hahahahahahahahahahahaha!

Good one!

This is getting more and more interesting...

In the next US House of Representatives edits, regarding JFK assasination, Lee Harvey Oswald and Jack Ruby acted "on behalf of the regime of Fidel Castro".

Twitter
Wiki

I'm far from an expert on networking...but isn't it possible for you to make your computer appear as if it is connected to another I.P.? I'm not really even sure how to explain this, but a while back I read about using programs and browser plugins to "mask" your I.P. by routing your machine through multiple (seems like it was a high number, maybe in the hundreds/thousands) I.P.'s and in the end you could essentially use an I.P. address from say Denmark while surfing the web in the U.S.A.

Hopefully that made sense to one of our more knowledgeable members...

With how non-secure our internet systems have been proven to be time and time again, and with how sneaky our Gov's around the globe have been...It would make more sense for the Gov's to use this I.P. masking (if it's even something in the realm of possibility) if they were trying to quietly edit info readily accesible by the public, and make it look like the average Joe is doing the editing. It would also stand to reason that this could be the reverse of that scenario, with the "average Joe" making it look like the editing was done from a Gov I.P.

Again, I'm far from an expert. Hell, I'm probably only slightly above the novice level. But it doesn't take an expert to understand that computer systems can be very, very vulnerable, and are very easy to manipulate if you know your stuff.

a reply to: ChaosComplex

or one government make it look like another government is doing the edit...

a reply to: zilebeliveunknown

Thanks for posting this!

I just read about the @congress-edits page at ars technica, and came to see if it had already been posted.

It's absolutely fascinating to see what people with access to Congressional computers edit. In the last 12 hours, some of the articles edited include: Coast to Coast AM, "Sirius" (the Greer film) on the Russian Wiki, and the Montauk Project.

Somebody on the Hill is into conspiracy theories...or muddying the waters even further.