He who controls the past, controls the future

According to a Reuters report by Randall Mikkelson, the online encyclopedia Wikipedia has been edited from FBI and CIA computers on articles ranging from the Iraq war to the prison at Guantanamo Bay. We know this thanks to a little invention called the "WikiScanner," which traces the sources of edits on the Web site. The WikiScanner is a relatively new program and it allows the user to trace the source of the edits on the Wikipedia entries or any other Wiki site. Some of the subject changes linked back to the CIA include the United States' invasion of Iraq. "A graphic on casualties was edited to add that many figures were estimated and were not broken down by class," Mikkelson reports. An article was also edited on William Colby, a former CIA chief, to expand merits and his professional history. If nothing else, they downplayed a negative side of the war and played up a positive side of Colby's career. But on Wikipedia's entry about the Guantanamo Bay prison, some aerial shots and satellite photos were removed. Those changes were linked back to FBI computers. We all know what CIA means: Central Intelligence Agency. And the FBI? Federal Bureau of Investigation. I really don't see anything in those titles about deciding what's appropriate on a Wiki site. The changes to the articles were minor but I honestly think that the organizations could practice a bit of time management. The changes were made by people who have access to their respective networks. Why is a CIA official surfing Wikipedia during work hours anyway? According to Mikkelson's report, the changes may be a violation of Wikipedia's "conflict of interest" guidelines. It makes me wonder if some of those conspiracy theories I hear so much about might have a bit of truth to them. The conflict of interest seems pretty apparent. I get this image in my head of grumbling CIA intelligence officers reduced to editing Wikipedia articles. George Little, CIA spokesman says he can't confirm that the changes were made by CIA computers. It's entirely possible that it's not high-ranking officials authorizing the changes, but I would hope that the CIA and FBI have more important things to worry about than what's on Wikipedia, of all things. Currently, the evidence is saying otherwise. Wikipedia's spokesperson, Sandra Ordonez, said that the changes violated the neutrality guidelines. People who are closely related to an issue or organization aren't supposed to edit entries about them. She also says that the site is "self-correcting." I guess that means that hopefully someone who actually knows the facts ends up editing the articles in question. The CIA has been the stuff of legends, filled with stories about double agents and spies. I'm sure it's not as "glamorous," for lack of a better word, as the mystery of it implies. But Wikipedia edits? Talk about a step down from Hollywood nightmares. It could be a very small glimpse of the surface area of a larger covert scheme to misinform the masses. Or it could just be an official or two at the CIA and FBI needing to swallow a little bit of pride. Either way, editing the articles seems fruitless anyway, since the information added or taken away is probably available from other sources on the Internet.