++
- Denmark (https://twitter.com/FTingetWikiEdit)
- Sweden (https://twitter.com/RiksdagWikiEdit)
- United States (https://twitter.com/congressedits)
- Chile (https://twitter.com/CongresoEdita)
- United Kingdom (https://twitter.com/parliamentedits)
- France (https://twitter.com/wikiAssemblee)
- Canada (https://twitter.com/gccaedits)
++
Local government:
- North Carolina (https://twitter.com/NCGAedits)
++
(To those wondering, no interesting edits so far.)
Here's an example query: https://gist.github.com/jarib/c16345c19971e324ac82
Please star this issue to bring the snapshot up to date: https://code.google.com/p/google-bigquery/issues/detail?id=1...
- South Africa (https://twitter.com/parlizaedits)
- Germany (https://twitter.com/reichstagedits)
imagine the title (and source) if they were making controversial edits?
Government-IP updates can be either completely innocuous (someone's lunch break habit, or possible goofing off during working hours... in which case this might get someone in hot water), or seriously ominous, if "re-writing history" is someone's paid job.
The former case isn't news-worthy, is it?
If the government was really determined to change history, you would think they wouldn't be doing it from their own IP ranges...
From what I've seem on the list, this has been some kind of an effort to actually improve the arcticles, and update government related information, like embassy addresses and websites.
It looks like there is a bunch of responsible, well intentioned and helpful people in the government - at lealst in Norway.
My favorite is the edit of a congressman's bio from saying he used to be a "corporate lawyer" to "attorney".
I guess it's good to break the habit of thinking that history (like AP US History) can be read in an "unfiltered" way, but without something like a comprehensive database of every single Wikipedia edit, with tools to help detect bias (example: CIA wants to edit an article) Wikipedia will become a victim in the information arms race.
In this particular case, I think statistics can reverse the obvious "tragedy of the commons" situation with Wikipedia.
For example: tools to help with associating edits / edit conspiracy / sockpuppet detection
[1] Title as I write is "10 years of anonymous Wikipedia edits from the Norwegian government"
The kind of people you hire to do that sort of work are exactly the kind of people who are going to update Wikipedia when they see something wrong or incomplete — or possibly the person who might get a message if someone can't find the right info on Wikipedia.
I don't know if I'd attribute it to public service so much as boredom and personal hobbies, though. The headline, of course, is the same as in this case - that "the government" is making Wikipedia edits, with malicious implications - though there have at least been some cases of vandalism, probably by staffers.
