UK Government caught editing Wikipedia articles on high-profile killings.

Link

A Channel 4 News investigation reveals Wikipedia edits to pages on Jean Charles de Menezes, Lee Rigby and Damilola Taylor made from government computers. The spokesman for the family of Jean Charles de Menezes today spoke of his shock after hearing that users on government computer networks were found to have altered key information in his Wikipedia entry and sought to cover up police failings.

A Channel 4 News investigation today reveals government computers have added a slur and inaccurate information to the page of Mr de Menezes, and separately made edits that downplay the murders of Damilola Taylor and Lee Rigby.

If this sounds familiar, it' may be because the USA were found altering information on the JFK assassination and Russia changed the article on MH-17. The findings also bear a worrying resemblance to the finding from the Hillsborough Disaster of a police force that destroyed any statements and evidence that highlighted police incompetence. If people were to say that was 24 years ago and such things do not occur these days, this may serve as a small piece of evidence that old habits die hard.

It may be that these edits were from individuals with their own agenda, but it does show that people in the government are interesed in the public opinion of these cases. I'm sure if the government were to significantly alter information, they would not do so using such easily traceable means. At the very least it shows that the government are still interested in the public perception in high profile cases, and would still attempt to obfuscate information for their own gain if they could get away with it.

USA wikipedia edits
Russia wikipedia edits

a reply to: twfau

Only a government with stuff to hide would do such a thing

Do I trust my government when I consider the following?

- Plays a role in arming another country which seems to enjoy killing women and children.
- Was probably complicit in destabilising other countries.
- Have policies that appear in favour of the rich over the poor.

And also there's the surveillance thing, someone appears to be taking liberties or rather stealing them. If I have done nothing wrong, the why does my privacy have to be encroached upon? And if it must be, then does it really have to be by these freaks, because they'd be the last kind of people I'd choose to monitor me.

And the answer to my first question, no.

a reply to: twfau

Wow. I really thought they wouldn't fall for this. Shows what I know.

Other edits appear to be acts of pure vandalism, including one change made to the page about former US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld describing him an "alien lizard who eats Mexican babies".

Someone received taxpayer money to make that edit. They probably call poor people lazy too.

Somewhat related, Snowden mentioned that other countries like the UK are just as bad if not worse than USA regarding privacy. This is because they don't have a constitution like the US so this comes as no surprise to me.