{"id":293724,"date":"2016-05-13T18:39:03","date_gmt":"2016-05-13T22:39:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/2016\/05\/outrage-over-government-wikipedia-edits-wrong-message\/"},"modified":"2025-08-28T15:27:43","modified_gmt":"2025-08-28T19:27:43","slug":"outrage-over-government-wikipedia-edits-wrong-message","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/2016\/05\/outrage-over-government-wikipedia-edits-wrong-message\/","title":{"rendered":"Outrage over government Wikipedia edits sends wrong message"},"content":{"rendered":"

The CBC has followed the lead of a number of previous articles in exposing three deeply concerning realities at play in the federal public service.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Public servants are humans.<\/li>\n
  2. They use the Internet.<\/li>\n
  3. They take breaks.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    I\u2019m referring here to an\u00a0article<\/a>\u00a0which exposes the fact that public servants are editing Wikipedia pages on subjects that have little to do with the business of government, including articles on sex positions and sports teams.\u00a0These edits were revealed by a Twitter bot\u2014@gcaedits\u2014an account that automatically publishes anonymous edits made to Wikipedia pages which originate from government IP addresses. Similar bots exist for other governments, including @WhitehallEdits (UK) and @congressedits (US).<\/p>\n

    Outrage over public servants\u2019 Wikipedia edits is at one level entirely silly. We have no reason to believe that this isn\u2019t a small group of people amongst the roughly 260, 000 public servants that access the web from government IP addresses. We also have no reason to believe these people weren\u2019t editing these articles on their breaks.\u00a0What\u2019s more, these edits might not even have been made by public servants, as the bot also catches edits from political staff in ministers’ offices.<\/p>\n

    Most importantly, when we\u2019re hearing stories<\/a> about how new government IT systems are failing to issue payments to people, and given ongoing issues with the government\u2019s current major IT project, Shared Services Canada, \u201cWikipedia-gate\u201d seems a grand waste of time and attention.<\/p>\n

    But more fundamentally, we need to challenge outrage over public servants\u2019 Wikipedia edits because this outrage is entirely at odds with our need for a more open, networked model of government fit for the digital age.<\/p>\n

    If we want to build a public service that keeps pace with the digital age, we first need public servants who are comfortable being open and engaging with the technologies and networks that define the digital age. The kinds of people who make Wikipedia edits for personal reasons on their breaks are also likely the ones who are comfortable making Wikipedia edits that do have value for government. These edits don\u2019t make the news, but they include edits made from the Department of Canadian Heritage to the Wikipedia page on Canada\u2019s 150th<\/sup>\u00a0Anniversary, or edits to the minister\u2019s bio on a department\u2019s Wikipedia page following a cabinet shuffle.<\/p>\n

    If you find yourself thinking \u201cHang on, why is it relevant for government to be publishing information on Wikipedia?\u201d, consider that over 500 million people visit Wikipedia monthly.\u00a0The site is now deeply integrated into Google’s search function, meaning that when you ask the Internet a question, Wikipedia will likely be the source of the answer. If government wants to make sure Canadians get the information they need, they need to go where we are. Editing a Wikipedia page is a fabulous example of the open, networked model of information sharing that digital era governments need to embrace.<\/p>\n

    In the 2015 federal election, it was precisely this brand of openness and digital era innovation that Justin Trudeau\u2019s Liberals promised, and for which they were rewarded with a majority government. Yet, when the media and the Canadian public indulges in outrage over a few Wikipedia edits, we risk creating a chilling effect that inhibits public servants from engaging with Canadians online even when it is entirely legitimate to do so.<\/p>\n

    The @gcaedits bot is just one example of the technologies that now allow us to peer into the workings of our governments. Transparency is a good thing, but if we really want an open, networked government fit for the digital age, journalists and everyday Canadians need to be more thoughtful about the messages they send when they uncritically evaluate what these technologies expose about our governments. As with most things, when it comes to the public service, you get what you ask for. Outrage over Wikipedia edits asks for a brand of closed, analogue government that none of us really wants in practice.<\/p>\n

    Photo:\u00a0chrisdorney<\/a> \/ Shutterstock.com<\/p>\n

    \n

    Do you have something to say about the article you just read? Be part of the<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>Policy Options\u00a0<\/em>discussion, and send in your own submission. Here is a<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>link<\/em><\/a>\u00a0<\/em>on how to do it. |\u00a0Souhaitez-vous r\u00e9agir \u00e0 cet article ? <\/em>Joignez-vous aux d\u00e9bats d\u2019<\/em>Options politiques\u00a0<\/em>et soumettez-nous votre texte en suivant ces<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>directives<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    The CBC has followed the lead of a number of previous articles in exposing three deeply concerning realities at play in the federal public service. Public servants are humans. They use the Internet. They take breaks. I\u2019m referring here to an\u00a0article\u00a0which exposes the fact that public servants are editing Wikipedia pages on subjects that have […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":913,"featured_media":293722,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"article-status":[],"irpp-category":[],"section":[],"irpp-tag":[],"class_list":["post-293724","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nOutrage over government Wikipedia edits sends wrong message<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/2016\/05\/outrage-over-government-wikipedia-edits-wrong-message\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"fr_FR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Outrage over government Wikipedia edits sends wrong message\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The CBC has followed the lead of a number of previous articles in exposing three deeply concerning realities at play in the federal public service. 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