(The same goes for all DFL candidates -- Wikipedia has a high Google rank, so when medium- and low-info voters go searching in September and October, we need to make sure they're getting real, true, and contextually valid information.
Volunteers? - promoted by Joe Bodell)
Franken opponents have been systematically editing Wikipedia entries relating to Al Franken, including his biography, the entries on "The Al Franken Show", and those on his books. Tampering includes putting problematic material on personal issues (former dabbling in cocaine, enjoyment of Grateful Dead) up in the introductory section which would normally be confined to facts like wife's name, where does he live, etc..
They also removed from his bio content that described the political expertise and passion he evidenced in his radio show. I was able to find corroboration by an outside source, so it will be harder to tamper with in the future, but not impossible.
They have inserted into "The Al Franken Show" entry lines that described it as a show which advocated liberal positions and which poked fun at conservatives. I corrected this to read progressive positions and which poked fun at the Bush Administration and some conservative radio commentators, to more accurately reflect the show (which I listened to for years). For people to read that Franken has such disrepect for conservative people in general that he devoted a major portion of his radio show to poking fun of them would be extremely unfair and damaging. So it's very important for my edits to be maintained.
I read the Wikipedia definitions of "liberalism" and "American progressivism" and determined to the best of my ability, that Franken's show and guests are better described by the latter. Liberal in many people's minds also includes lifestyle issues which were never a topic of the show, and a disdain for religion, which wasn't either, except to question Bush's understanding of Christianity.
They distorted the fact that Franken had a study group of Harvard graduate students help with the research for Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them to say that volunteer Harvard students (implying random undergrads) helped write the book.
Franken and his campaign have a strict policy of hands off Wikipedia, since there was quite a flap about an alteration he made previously to his bio, so there will be no help there. Personally, I'm brand-new at Wikipedia and many years past college, so I'm very slow at editing, and I'm not sure my reference notes are written correctly. I simply cannot keep up with constant reversals of my editing which will only accelerate as the race heats up.
For people to be assured of reading reasonably accurate information in the Franken-related Wikipedia entries, some of you will have to step up and monitor the pages. Otherwise you can be assured that voters will be getting distortions. |
