On Wikipedia, Debating 2008 Hopefuls' Every Facet

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On Wikipedia, Debating 2008 Hopefuls' Every Facet

By Jose Antonio Vargas
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, September 17, 2007; Page A01


On Sen. John McCain's Wikipedia entry, the argument has been over whether he is a conservative, moderate or liberal Republican. A heated exchange on former senator John Edwards's page has centered on deleting any reference to his $400 haircuts. And perhaps the most contentious dispute of all -- at least last week -- was over Fred Thompson's proper name: Is it Freddie, the name he was born with? Or Fred, as he's called now?

" 'Freddie' makes Thompson sound ridiculous," a user argued. "It's not about making Thompson look silly," another responded. "It's about having accurate information."

On Wikipedia.org, the write-it-yourself encyclopedia, everyone can be an editor, and every day thousands of them are engaging in fierce battles over the life stories of the 2008 presidential candidates.

Many of those battles, so far, are over relatively small biographical details, but the stakes are high: Wikipedia is one of the 10 most visited Web sites, drawing 6 billion page views a month, according to the Web rating service Alexa. Type a candidate's name into Google, and among the first results is a Wikipedia page, making those entries arguably as important as any ad in defining a candidate. Already, the presidential entries are being edited, dissected and debated countless times each day.

On the campaign trail, the candidates' positions on Iraq, illegal immigration and health care garner the most attention. But for the unknown number of editors of Wikipedia -- from 20-something law students to 50-something stay-at-home moms, from fierce partisans supporting their candidates to news junkies who place a premium on facts -- seemingly no issue goes unnoticed.

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/16/AR2007091601699.html?hpid=topnews