August 24, 2007

Wikipedia Snafu

A South African government official was suspended today for allegedly deleting HIV/AIDS entries on the country’s Wikipedia site.

The popular online encyclopedia allows users all around the world to edit information in real time. Though this sometimes raises concerns about the accuracy of the site, the system tracks the computer IP addresses linked to each change in order to monitor unfair influence.

The government official reportedly attempted to censor AIDS information about South Africa by deleting some entries and only leaving entries that described the government’s initiatives to stop the spread of the virus.