Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain

Top Menu

  • About US
  • Videos
  • Infographics
  • Comment
  • Question and Answer
  • Watch us Live

Main Menu

  • Home
  • Viewpoint
  • Islamic Culture
  • Da’wah
  • Media
  • People
    • Sheikh Taqiuddin an-Nabahani (Founder)
    • Sheikh Abdul Qadeem Zallum (Successor)
    • Sheikh Ata Abu Rashta (Ameer)
    • Abdul Wahid
    • Abu Yusuf
    • Jamal Harwood
    • Taji Mustafa
  • Books
  • Youth
  • Covid-19
  • About US
  • Videos
  • Infographics
  • Comment
  • Question and Answer
  • Watch us Live

logo

Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain

  • Home
  • Viewpoint
    • Abortion isn’t about Roe v Wade but Truth v Hypocrisy

      June 27, 2022
      0
    • Bangladesh Floods: farcical mantra of economic success disguising failure to provide basic ...

      June 24, 2022
      0
    • The Sectarian Card – Shia and Sunni divisions under the spotlight

      June 5, 2022
      0
    • Making Sense of Pakistan

      April 16, 2022
      0
    • How Should We View the War in Ukraine?

      March 30, 2022
      0
    • The India Hijab Issue from an Islamic Perspective

      March 24, 2022
      0
    • DEEP DIVE: The Weaponisation and Politicisation of British Citizenship Laws

      March 12, 2022
      0
    • Our Role in the Ukraine war is to Expose the Propaganda

      March 2, 2022
      0
    • Muslims Should Rejoice Over the Islamic Ruling System

      January 21, 2022
      0
  • Islamic Culture
    • Reading Quran

      The story of the man who was told to “Enter Paradise” and ...

      January 24, 2022
      0
    • Significance of Rabi’ul-Awwal

      October 10, 2021
      0
    • Virtues of the Month of Muharram

      August 10, 2021
      0
    • The significance of first 10 days of Dhul Hijjah

      July 10, 2021
      0
    • The Honour of the Prophets

      April 30, 2021
      0
    • A to Z of Ramadan

      April 19, 2021
      0
    • The Dawah to Allah (swt)

      December 29, 2020
      0
    • Miracle of the Quran

      Q & A - Compilation of The Holy Quran During the Reign ...

      December 27, 2020
      0
    • Imam Bukhari: A Role Model for the ‘Ulema and Da’wah Carriers to ...

      November 17, 2020
      0
  • Da’wah
    • Call to action against Hindutva and Zionist aggression

      July 16, 2022
      0
    • National Conferences : From al-Hind to al-Quds: Speak Out | Act | ...

      June 18, 2022
      0
    • Public Demonstration - Independence Not Intervention

      April 22, 2022
      0
    • VIDEO : [LIVESTREAMED] Pakistan in Crisis: The Players, Politics, and People

      April 20, 2022
      0
    • Ramadan Message: The World Needs Islam - We Must Work for the ...

      April 1, 2022
      0
    • The India Hijab Issue from an Islamic Perspective

      March 24, 2022
      0
    • Ramadhan event: Kyiv to Kabul: The World Needs Islam

      March 20, 2022
      0
    • Obituary of a Dawah Carrier Dr. Youssef Haj Youssef

      December 30, 2021
      0
    • Open Letter to Imams and Muslim Leaders

      September 28, 2021
      0
  • Media
  • People
    • Sheikh Taqiuddin an-Nabahani (Founder)
    • Sheikh Abdul Qadeem Zallum (Successor)
    • Sheikh Ata Abu Rashta (Ameer)
    • Abdul Wahid
    • Abu Yusuf
    • Jamal Harwood
    • Taji Mustafa
  • Books
  • Youth
  • Covid-19
News Watch
Home›News Watch›Wikipedia edit from government computer added Muslim insult

Wikipedia edit from government computer added Muslim insult

By Editor
April 30, 2014
821
0
Share:

The charity that represents Wikipedia in the UK has condemned edits made from government computers after more incidents of vandalism emerged.

The BBC has discovered that the phrase “all Muslims are terrorists” was added to a page about veils.

Another edit deleted text in Cherie Blair’s entry about the flat-buying scandal that made headlines in 2002.

The Liverpool Echo last week revealed that insults had been added to the entry for the Hillsborough Disaster.

Stevie Benton, from Wikimedia UK, told the BBC: “We find this kind of vandalism appalling.”

Wikimedia UK is the local arm of the global Wikimedia Foundation, the charity set up by the online encyclopaedia’s founder Jimmy Wales to support the thousands of volunteers who edit and maintain Wikipedia.

“Wikipedia is the encyclopaedia that anyone can edit,” Mr Benton added.

“This openness has led to an enormous reference work of great value. While vandalism does occasionally happen we are grateful to the many thousands of volunteers who write, edit and organise the content.”

In an email, the Cabinet Office reiterated its statement on the matter.

“The amendments made to Wikipedia are sickening. The behaviour is in complete contravention of the Civil Service Code. It is entirely unacceptable.”

It added: “The Civil Service Code applies at all times, and we take breaches very seriously. We have already announced an investigation to examine offensive edits to Wikipedia, and will look at other concerns raised.”

‘Spells evil’

The BBC found more than a hundred instances of inappropriate editing, vandalism and deletion made by computers accessing Wikipedia through the two IP addresses known to be used by government machines.

A change made to the entry for “veil” in October 2006 added: “It should be noted that the word Veil, when the letters rearraged [sic], spells evil.

“Since the Veil is mostly worn by Muslims, and all Muslims are terrorists (with the argument for this being that all terrorists have been Muslim), this fact should be dually [sic] noted by all.”

The comment was removed by a Wikipedia volunteer six minutes later.

Nasima Begum, a spokeswoman for the Muslim Council of Britain, told the BBC: “It is these types of attitudes that create an unnecessary climate of fear and hostility.

“It is shocking and cause for great concern that inflammatory comments like these should be sent from someone within the government.”

Removed paragraphs

As well as vandalism, large passages of text were deleted.

In 2002, Cherie Blair made a public apology after it had emerged she had bought two flats, at a discounted price, with help from convicted fraudster Peter Foster.

Paragraphs about the incident in Mrs Blair’s Wikipedia entry were removed by a government PC in October 2005.

Later, a different user would revert the changes, arguing that they were “relevant to the subject’s reputation”.

The BBC was unable to reach Mrs Blair to discuss the matter. There is no indication that she had any knowledge of the changes.

Other edits made by government machines included:

  • In the entry for the London bombings, links to websites detailing popular conspiracy theories were added.
  • The article for former prime minister Tony Blair was deleted in its entirety and replaced with the words “he should be assassinated”.
  • Homophobic insults were added to the entry for newspaper columnist Richard Littlejohn.
  • Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver, who has worked for the government on healthy eating initiatives, also had homophobic insults added to his page.
  • Mr Benton, from Wikimedia UK, praised the work of Wikipedia editors in correcting the changes.

“Edits of this nature are removed very quickly by the volunteers who write and edit Wikipedia,” he said. “Often in a matter of minutes.”

Edits made by government computers have come under close scrutiny following the Liverpool Echo’s report showing how insulting remarks about Liverpool fans were added to the page detailing the Hillsborough Disaster.

The changes were identified by analysing edits made by two IP addresses – 195.92.40.49 and 62.25.106.209 – known to be connected to the Government Secure Intranet (GSI).

The GSI is used to allow government machines to connect to the internet securely.

Investigation

The Cabinet Office has admitted that, due to the nature of its computer network, it would be almost impossible to track down who is responsible for the offensive remarks.

A spokesman said: “We are exhausting every option. Anyone with information should contact the Cabinet Office.”

Unlike most people’s home internet connections, where an IP address can sometimes be used to pinpoint one particular computer, large organisations tend to mask individual machines for security reasons.

It is also possible to “spoof” IP addresses to make the source of a connection look like it is coming from somewhere else. However, several of the offensive messages were made prior to the government IP addresses being disclosed in 2008.

  • In the entry about indie band The Libertines: “[T]he more astute critics correctly identify the band as scum”, and added a remark about lead singer Pete Doherty’s drug use.
  • Comments about footballer Wayne Rooney that said he was “currently knocking off ‘queen chav’ Coleen McGlochlin”.
  • The deletion of the entire post for Irish politician Christopher Byrne, replacing it with simply “is a sexy beast”.
  • Changing the entry for BBC presenter Peter Levy to list “Adolf Hitler” as an ex-partner.
  • Describing Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger as being “made of clay”.

BBC News

Previous Article

Hundreds of female Cambridge students have been ...

Next Article

Event: Stand as ambassadors for Islam, London

0
Shares
  • 0
  • +

National Conferences

Join US on Telegram

Podcast

Latest Posts

Press Releases

From Al-Hind to Al-Quds – Establish the Khilafah – End the Oppression

Both conferences organised by Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain this weekend were successfully convened in sold out auditoria. The central message and call to action is for Muslims to reject all normalisation ...
  • Call to action against Hindutva and Zionist aggression

    By Editor
    July 16, 2022
  • From Al-Hind to Al-Quds Conference – Speak Out – Act – Liberate

    By Yahya Nisbet
    July 14, 2022
  • Abortion isn’t about Roe v Wade but Truth v Hypocrisy

    By Taji Mustafa
    June 27, 2022
  • Bangladesh Floods: farcical mantra of economic success disguising failure to provide basic protection

    By Editor
    June 24, 2022
  • National Conferences : From al-Hind to al-Quds: Speak Out | Act | Liberate

    By Editor
    June 18, 2022
  • The Champions of Free Speech Haven’t a Leg to Stand on

    By Yahya Nisbet
    June 13, 2022
  • Two July Conferences on Indian and Zionist Oppression Organised by Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain

    By Yahya Nisbet
    June 10, 2022
  • Press Centre