US Senator Trolls Edward Snowden, Caught Changing Wikipedia Entry
A trolling senator has been caught red handed changing Edward Snowden’s Wikipedia page. Though for many it is still controversial, one congressman decided to go ahead and change Snowden from a “dissident” to a “traitor.”
Wikipedia, well known as the free online crowd sourced encyclopedia, lets users make edits to pages when they are needed. But because the temptation for trolling is so high, the IP address of each person who makes a change is logged. This makes it easy to find who it is and to block them from trolling more.
One US senator troll didn’t know about this, apparently. Deciding to skip the trial and sentencing, this pol decided he or she was going to get ahead of the curve and finish writing current history (since we all know Wikipedia will live on longer than any of us).
Edward Snowden has been in the headlines for weeks now. The former NSA contractor first revealed himself in June after leaking information about top secret US spy programs, including PRISM and XKeyscore.
His first interview was done in Hong Kong, where he was hiding from US extradition. Since then, Snowden has been stuck in legal limbo at the Moscow airport seeking asylum in any nation that will take him. He recently was granted a one year stay in Russia.
To be accurate, it is not known whether the Wikipedia editor is a US senator or not. Because the IP traced to Capitol Hill, it is possible that he or she is an intern or staffer and not a senator, The Daily Dot points out. But looking at the IP’s other edit history, this was apparently the first malevolent act from Senator Troll, or whoever it is.
What other edits have from from this Senate IP? Earlier this year he or she added to the entry for “Five People You Meet In Heaven,” modified part of an entry for a magnum revolver, added credits to a San Francisco tiki bar entry, and fixed the spelling of the word “conspiracy” on another. Changing Edward Snowden from “dissident” to “traitor” looks to be the first page the senator has trolled so far though.
[Image via ShutterStock]
