Church of Scientology Banned from Editing Wikipedia Content
- Monday, June 1, 2009, 15:18
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In an effort to regulate biased editing of its content, Wikipedia has banned a series of IP addresses associated with the Church of Scientology, The Register reports. The decision by Wikipedia’s Arbitration Committee marks the first time that the eighth-most-popular website has prevented a major organization from promoting its own agenda through self-serving edits.
According to The Register, a former member of the church’s Office of Special Affairs said that the church has mounted “massive efforts” to scrub material that criticizes Scientology from the Internet. He claimed, “The guys I worked with posted every day all day. It was like a machine. I worked with someone who used five separate computers, five separate anonymous identities…to refute any facts from the internet about the Church of Scientology.”
However, Wikipedia has also cracked down on anti-Scientology “Wikifiddlers” who tweak Wikipedia content in accordance with their own agendas. In the past, the site has banned a number of anti-Scientology editors from revising content related to the church.