Evil Bobby notes that he had linked to the Wikipedia entry as a source for material about Gutknecht term-limit promise on August 13. One of the details about the Gutknecht Wikipedia story is that the last edit by the Congressman's staff was on August 14.
Now, we can't say with complete certainity that because the latter edit occurred after the blog post, the blog post caused the staffer to edit the Wikipedia entry. Without proof of motive, such an accusation could be called a post hoc fallacy.
However, it does look fairly suspect: Most of the removed text was about the 12-year term-limit Gutknecht imposed on himself in 1995.
Gutknecht's staffer obviously didn't factor in the attention the edits would bring. Indeed, a visitor to the Wikipedia entry today learns a lot about Gil Gutknecht that doesn't read like material for his campaign biography.
MORE WIKI WHACKING
N.D. Barrett at Orange Penny Loafers gets off a good shot:
It's two of my favorite subjects in one! Apparently Gil Gutknecht's camp has taken to altering his Wikipedia entry to remove pesky information like the vow about 12-year term limits that got him into office in the first place (and which, if he kept his promises, would prevent him from running this year). But the best part is how they justify it:
"We're concerned when anyone looks to Wikipedia for factual information," said Gutknecht spokesman Jon Yarian. "This is the same source that called former Assistant Attorney General John Seigenthaler a murderer in his official Wikipedia entry ... I would encourage people to find a more trustworthy place to do their research."
For those of us who understand English: "We're concerned about people finding facts on Wikipedia, so we're doing a service by removing them."
Corn and Oil, an edu-blog in Illinois notes that Gutknecht was "Caught by a homeschooler." Edu-blog HE & OS observes: "Cool Job" Do you think Katherine Kersten will cite the home-schooled student's catch as an example of home-schooling's merits in her next column? No?
Ryan Alexander's DailyKos Diary picks up on the story. Cross-posted to Evan Bayh's All America PAC, with a suggestion to Support Tim Walz's campaign by clicking here.
The Mn Politics Guru carries on in "Gil Gutknecht's Wikipedia faux pas":
Everybody knows you don't edit your own entry. For shame, Gil!
Erasing the past: it seems to be the Republican campaign strategy this year. I wonder why? Too bad that tactic doesn't work so well in an age of bloggers, Lexis Nexis, and web archives that stick around forever.
Kairosnews: A Weblog for Discussing Rhetoric, Technology and Pedagogy leads to a post in a yahoo group forum for reference source fiends. The Star Tribune article is posted with the head note:
He's the latest politician to try to edit his online biography, and he, too, was detected by a volunteer editor.
John Hottinger says:
I was the DFLer who ran against Gil in 1994. His three issues were 1)term limits of 12 years, 2) balance the federal budget, and 3)no foreign military actions without a clear exit plan. He’s 3 for 3 in flip-flops, or disastrous results, whichever you prefer.
Blog P.I. added a p.s. with local bloggers' reaction to the story. Thanks!
I know I know. There's no proof that A caused B, but I still got an ego Rush from it....
Posted by: DAV | August 18, 2006 at 09:41 AM