A Tweetbot Caught the Russian Gov't Editing Flight MH17 Wikipedia Info

[PeaceNikki]

Remember @CongressEdits, the tweetbot that alerts whenever a Wikipedia article is edited from a government IP address? There's a Russian version now, and it just uncovered some pretty drastic edits to a Wikipedia article that mentions Flight MH17, originating from a Russian government IP address.

As The Telegraph reports, @RuGovEdits tweeted that a computer user from within the All-Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company (VHTRK) edited the Russian-language version of the Wikipedia entry about the Malaysian Airlines passenger jet shot down over Ukraine yesterday.

The original version of the Wikipedia article listing civil aviation accidents stated that MH17 had been shot down "by terrorists of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic with Buk system missiles, which the terrorists received from the Russian Federation." Emphasis added.

The edits originating from the government-owned computer changed the article to read "the plane [flight MH17] was shot down by Ukrainian soldiers". Again, emphasis added.

If @RuGovEdits is to be trusted (and considering the Wiki-twitterbot code is widely available on Github, it probably can be), it certainly seems like someone within the Russian government is working to hide the widely-held fact that Russian weapons were used to bring down MH17. But while Wikipedia might be malleable, it's also transparent.

http://gizmodo.com/a-tweetbot-caught-the-russian-govt-editing-flight-mh17-1607483459?utm_campaign=socialflow_gizmodo_facebook&utm_source=gizmodo_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow

[Cha]

1. Thank you PN.. Good ol Tweeters!

[Roy Serohz]

2. DUly RECommended

[abbeyco]

6. +1,000,000,000,000 nt

[misterhighwasted]

3. K & R. Bunch of bears crapping in the Russian woods, I'm thinking! ha

Great Post. Thanks

[Hekate]

4. Did they make anyone an un-person yet?

In some ways it's much easier now than in the days painters were employed to carefully replace disgraced comrades with, say, a large urn or small bush in all the encyclopedias.

Otoh, the Internet never really forgets, does it?

[Iliyah]

5. K & R

Russia is really on the defense and their foot soldiers are tampering with evidence on the grounds where the plane crashed and not allowing investigators to do there jobs.

[MattSh]

7. Is either been determined to be true?

The original version of the Wikipedia article listing civil aviation accidents stated that MH17 had been shot down "by terrorists of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic with Buk system missiles, which the terrorists received from the Russian Federation." Emphasis added.

The edits originating from the government-owned computer changed the article to read "the plane was shot down by Ukrainian soldiers". Again, emphasis added.

If not, NEITHER should be mentioned in a Wikipedia entry. So any change by the Russian government or anyone associated with it is just as bad as the original entry. NEITHER one should be there, because NEITHER version has been proved beyond a reasonable doubt.

[PeaceNikki]

8. You have clearly missed the point. The Russian government is editing the page.

[Jim Lane]

9. Both should be mentioned, not neither.

Wikipedia reports facts, but that includes facts about notable opinions (with a fair summary of the points relied on by each side). I agree with you that, at this stage, neither viewpoint should be flatly asserted as a fact.