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Participants in Saturday's workshop learned how to edit Wikipedia articles.

FARMINGTON - A workshop on Saturday educatedparticipantsonthe process of editing Wikipedia articles to provide accurate and up-to-date information, specifically focused on women in the arts. The online encyclopedia offers free information in over 250 languages worldwide. Articles are a collaborative effort of the general public, allowing anyone to contribute or edit the information.

Organizer, Abby Flannigan, brought the idea for the "edit-a-thon" back to her hometown of Farmington after learning the skills at a similar gatheringin her college town of Bozeman, Montana. Theworkshop was scheduled to align with others happening around the globe, an event in its fifth year of taking place.

The Wikipedia Edit-a-thon is one piece of a larger movement to bring more female participation to the site. The movement began after a 2010 survey revealed that less than 13 percent of Wikipedia contributors were women, leading to alack of representation on the site. Last year's edit-a-thon brought an estimated 2,500 global participants who edited a total of 3,000 articles related to notable women artists.

"A lot of my students are getting biased information from Wikipedia and using it for papers, which is solidifying it as real history," University of Maine at Farmington Associate Professor of Art History, Sarah Maline said.

Maline helped to organize the event after hearing about the idea from Flannigan. The team, along with UMF freshman Hope Williams, gathered at the UMF Art Gallery to provide free food, childcare and skills to interested participants. Despite the university's spring break, a small crowd brought laptops and camped out for the day's edit-a-thon. The team plans to schedule next year's event when classes are in session in order to encourage more participants.

"As a teacher, it's not about the mechanics of technology, but about the forward thinking use of technology. We are a global society. We need to be looking at the bigger picture and how can we use technology to make a difference in the world," UMF Associate Professor of Secondary Education Theresa Overall said.

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Workshop provides skills to edit Wikipedia articles | Daily Bulldog - Daily Bulldog

With laptops in hand, people gathered in the Harn Museum of Art on Sunday to increase representation of female artists on Wikipedia.

The second annual Wikipedia Edit-a-thon: Art + Feminism was held to represent women and artists in other minority groups. The Gainesville event, hosted by the Harn and UFs School of Art + Art History, was one of many held around the world, said Melissa Hyde, the director of graduate students for UFs School of Art + Art History.

About 40 people sat in the museums auditorium, editing or creating articles about artists for about four hours.

Hyde said by increasing the number of women who create and are the subjects of Wikipedia pages, the website would more accurately represent artists.

Its such an important source for us now, its like the first stop for everybody when you want to look something up, she said.

Ninety percent of Wikipedias content is produced by men, said Eric Segal, the director of education and curator of academic programs at the Harn.

The content itself tends to skew towards male interests, Segal said.

Jennifer Canals, a UF art history junior, said she wanted to attend Sundays event after participating last year.

We have a long history of being misrepresented as women and especially as women artists, the 21-year-old said. I think that its really great that were giving recognition to artists that otherwise would not be getting recognition.

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Harn hosts Wikipedia-editing marathon in name of feminism - The Independent Florida Alligator

In an interview with CNN's KFile, Stewart acknowledged that the changes, made by Wikipedia users "VirginiaHistorian77" and "Publius2016," came from his campaign. Stewart, who is facing off against former RNC chairman Ed Gillespie in this year's GOP primary, defended the actions as necessary to correct information on his page. Wikipedia "strongly discourages" users from editing pages about themselves or about people or businesses to which users have a close connection. A Wikipedia editor raised a red flag on one of the users last October, noting that the user appeared to be close to the subject it was editing. The warning was ignored. One of the edits removed a reference to a Politifact article that rated "mostly false" Stewart's claim that he had "cut violent crime in half" by instituting a crackdown on illegal immigration. In its place, Stewart's campaign added language crediting Stewart with the drop in crime. In an another edit, Stewart's 2013 defeat in a race to be the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor was softened with the addition that the loss "raised his statewide profile, which ultimately led to other statewide endeavors."

In an interview with CNN's KFile, Stewart said that the campaign was fixing incorrect information.

"We've had problems with people going on there and putting false information on there, so we've had to keep an eye on it," Stewart said. "In fact there's somebody in there who's put, you know, I cracked down on illegal immigration, I led a big crack down on illegal immigration in 2007, and somebody went in there and said I was anti-immigrant, which isn't true. So, things like that have to be corrected."

In one case, the campaign added that Stewart's role in the Donald Trump's campaign had "thrust Stewart into the forefront of Virginia GOP politics."

Stewart, who served as the Virginia chair of the campaign, was fired after he staged a protest outside the RNC without approval from the campaign. An edit to his page minimized Stewart's involvement, phrasing his termination as, "refusing to shut down a pro-Trump women's demonstration protesting the Republican National Committee's lack of support for Donald Trump."

One of the users added to Stewart's page that "many political analysts believe, however, that Stewart's termination may actually benefit his candidacy for Governor of Virginia."

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Virginia gubernatorial candidate removed unflattering info from Wikipedia page - CNN

By Susana Victoria Perez, Buzz60

Arizona Wildcats Sean Miller was hoping to add a new title to his resume this year: being the head coach of a Final Four team in the NCAA championship. Sorry Miller, not this season.

And someone made sure to update his wikipedia page as soon as his Arizona Wildcats lost to Xavier in the Sweet 16.

Miller and his team were very close to making it to the Elite Eight but they blew a a 69-61 lead with under four minutes left and lost 73-71 to Xavier.

Maybe it was comedian Bill Murray rooting on Xavier that did Miller in.

Moments later the internet got to work and Miller's Wikipedia page got a harsh edit in his Head Coach Record and for this season it read: "you guessed it, not the Final Four".

The page was then re edited to: "not the final four hahaha" And finally, to just NCAA Sweet Sixteen.

Poor Miller, there's always next year!

29 PHOTOS

March Madness Sweet 16 Night 1

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Mar 23, 2017; Kansas City, MO, USA; Oregon Ducks guard Dylan Ennis (31) shoots as Michigan Wolverines forward Moritz Wagner (13) guards during the game in the semifinals of the midwest Regional of the 2017 NCAA Tournament at Sprint Center. Oregon defeated Michigan 69-68. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

KANSAS CITY, MO - MARCH 23: Dillon Brooks #24 of the Oregon Ducks shoots the ball against D.J. Wilson #5 of the Michigan Wolverines in the second half during the 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Midwest Regional at Sprint Center on March 23, 2017 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

KANSAS CITY, MO - MARCH 23: Tyler Dorsey #5 of the Oregon Ducks dribbles the ball in the second half against the Michigan Wolverines during the 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Midwest Regional at Sprint Center on March 23, 2017 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

KANSAS CITY, MO - MARCH 23: Dylan Ennis #31 of the Oregon Ducks battles for a loose ball in the first half against the Michigan Wolverines during the 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Midwest Regional at Sprint Center on March 23, 2017 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

KANSAS CITY, MO - MARCH 23: The Oregon Ducks cheerleaders perform against the Michigan Wolverines during the 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Midwest Regional at Sprint Center on March 23, 2017 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

KANSAS CITY, MO - MARCH 23: The Michigan Wolverines huddle prior to the 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Midwest Regional against the Oregon Ducks at Sprint Center on March 23, 2017 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

SAN JOSE, CA - MARCH 23: Zach Collins #32 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs fights for a loose ball with Lamont West #15 and Daxter Miles Jr. #4 of the West Virginia Mountaineers in the first half during the 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament West Regional at SAP Center on March 23, 2017 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

Mar 23, 2017; San Jose, CA, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers guard Teyvon Myers (0) reacts against the Gonzaga Bulldogs during the second half in the semifinals of the West Regional of the 2017 NCAA Tournament at SAP Center. Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports

Mar 23, 2017; San Jose, CA, USA; Gonzaga Bulldogs center Przemek Karnowski (rear) battles for the ball with West Virginia Mountaineers forward Elijah Macon (45) during the second half in the semifinals of the West Regional of the 2017 NCAA Tournament at SAP Center. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Mar 23, 2017; San Jose, CA, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers forward Esa Ahmad (23) passes the ball to forward Elijah Macon (45) around Gonzaga Bulldogs forward Zach Collins (32) during the second half in the semifinals of the West Regional of the 2017 NCAA Tournament at SAP Center. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

SAN JOSE, CA - MARCH 23: Silas Melson #0 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs attempts a shot defended by Tarik Phillip #12 of the West Virginia Mountaineers during the 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament West Regional at SAP Center on March 23, 2017 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

SAN JOSE, CA - MARCH 23: Josh Perkins #13 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs attempts a free throw against the West Virginia Mountaineers during the 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament West Regional at SAP Center on March 23, 2017 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)

SAN JOSE, CA - MARCH 23: The West Virginia Mountaineers prepare for their game against the Gonzaga Bulldogs during the 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament West Regional at SAP Center on March 23, 2017 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

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Mar 23, 2017; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas Jayhawks guard Lagerald Vick (2) passes as Purdue Boilermakers center Isaac Haas (44) defends during the first half in the semifinals of the midwest Regional of the 2017 NCAA Tournament at Sprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

KANSAS CITY, MO - MARCH 23: Isaac Haas #44 of the Purdue Boilermakers attempts a shot against the Kansas Jayhawks during the 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Midwest Regional at Sprint Center on March 23, 2017 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

KANSAS CITY, MO - MARCH 23: Isaac Haas #44 of the Purdue Boilermakers battles for the ball with Carlton Bragg Jr. #15 of the Kansas Jayhawks during the 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Midwest Regional at Sprint Center on March 23, 2017 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

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KU's Josh Jackson fights for a loose ball with Purdue's Ryan Cline during the second half in the Sweet Sixteen round of the NCAA Tournament at Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo., on Thursday, March 23, 2017. Kansas advanced, 98-66. (Rich Sugg/Kansas City Star/TNS via Getty Images)

KANSAS CITY, MO - MARCH 23: Isaac Haas #44 of the Purdue Boilermakers and Dwight Coleby #22 of the Kansas Jayhawks battle for a rebound in the first half during the 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Midwest Regional at Sprint Center on March 23, 2017 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

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SAN JOSE, CA - MARCH 23: Kadeem Allen #5 of the Arizona Wildcats rebounds against the Xavier Musketeers during the 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament West Regional at SAP Center on March 23, 2017 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)

SAN JOSE, CA - MARCH 23: Trevon Bluiett #5 of the Xavier Musketeers and Rawle Alkins #1 of the Arizona Wildcats battle for the ball during the 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament West Regional at SAP Center on March 23, 2017 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)

SAN JOSE, CA - MARCH 23: Trevon Bluiett #5 of the Xavier Musketeers shoots against the Arizona Wildcats during the 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament West Regional at SAP Center on March 23, 2017 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)

SAN JOSE, CA - MARCH 23: Malcolm Bernard #11 of the Xavier Musketeers is defended by Kadeem Allen #5 of the Arizona Wildcats during the 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament West Regional at SAP Center on March 23, 2017 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

Mar 23, 2017; San Jose, CA, USA; Xavier Musketeers guard Malcolm Bernard (left) and guard Trevon Bluiett (5) celebrate after defeating the Arizona Wildcats during the semifinals of the West Regional of the 2017 NCAA Tournament at SAP Center. Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports

SAN JOSE, CA - MARCH 23: Kaiser Gates #22 of the Xavier Musketeers vies for posession with Kadeem Allen #5 of the Arizona Wildcats in the first half during the 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament West Regional at SAP Center on March 23, 2017 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

SAN JOSE, CA - MARCH 23: Quentin Goodin #3 of the Xavier Musketeers dunks against the Arizona Wildcats during the 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament West Regional at SAP Center on March 23, 2017 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

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Sean Miller's Wiki page gets a harsh edit after upset NCAA loss - AOL

On the morning of March 19, as a controversy grew over senior presidential aide Sebastian Gorka, an unidentified individual amended the Wikipedia page of a previously obscure far-right Hungarian organization called the Vitzi Rend, or Order of Vitz.

The Forward, in an exclusive published on-line just three days earlier, had identified the group as one that the State Department listed as having been under the direction of the Nazi Government of Germany during World War II; it also quoted leaders of one of the Vitzi Rends modern-day factions naming Gorka as one of their sworn lifelong members. (Gorka was quoted denying it by the website Tablet but did not repeat that denial in a subsequent formal statement he issued addressing the Forwards story via the White House Press Office.)

The new paragraph in Wikipedia said that according to Columbia University Professor Istvn Dek, there were Jewish members of the Vitzi Rend. But when the Forward contacted Dek, a prominent scholar of Hungary in the 20th century, he stated emphatically that he never said this. In fact, he said, Hungarian Jews were effectively barred from membership in the organization.

I have never heard of a Jew or, more importantly, of a Christian of purely Jewish origin, who had the right to sign his name with v for vitz, he wrote in an email, referring to the honorific the group confers only on members.

Today, he added, the Vitzi Rend is obviously a rightist organization, whose members, especially in the US, adore the exoticism of their archaic sounding ranks. But he added, All in all, in my opinion, the Vitzi Rend was not, and still is most likely not a full-fledged fascist organizationIt surely contains a few neo-Nazis. I doubt that any Jewish convert had made its way into the Order.

Wikipedia entries can be edited by anyone. As the editing history and discussion boards of the Vitzi Rend and Sebastian Gorka pages show, they can also quickly become targets of an information war, with multiple individuals constantly trying to amend the page to their likingincluding with false information.

Wikipedia designates this phenomenon as edit warring. According to the website, edit warring is a behavior, typically exemplified by the use of repeated edits to win a content dispute.

Over the past weeks, since an initial article on the news website Lobelog first sparked interest in Gorkas relationship to the Vitzi Rend, the Wikipedia entries for both Sebastian Gorka and Vitzi Rend have been edited countless times. Users have pages-long discussions and arguments over the reliability of sources and accuracy of Wikipedia wording, with editors often accusing one another of personal motives for changing the entries.

I understand the edit war going on is not productive but how does one stop someone from unfairly trying to defame a Subject on Wikipedia, especially in light of the contentious elections? [asked] one user in the discussion page regarding the Sebastian Gorka Wikipedia entry.

Another editor complains of the Gorka Wikipedia entry: two editors persist in removing material thats reliably sourced and accurately described.

One editor posted, in an exasperated tone, on March 19 regarding the Vitzi Rends Wikipedia page: Last sane edit: Id like to suggest reversion back to the last edit before the 2016 U.S. election. []The reason for this is the controversy surrounding a suspected member of the group.

But sites like Wikipedia are not alone in struggling to present accurate information to readers online.

Just a few days before the anonymous Wikipedia editor added historically inaccurate statements to the Vitzi Rends Wikipedia page, the Jerusalem Post published an opinion piece by Bruce Abramson and Jeff Ballabon accusing the Forward of failing in its story on Gorka to note that the order had Jewish members. Among these, claimed the authors, was a friend of the Gorka family whose valuables the Gorkas hid from the Nazis.

All leading historians of this era agree that Jewish Hungarians were in effect barred from membership in the organization, which was founded on the principle of Hungarian racial superiority.

I do not know about a single Jewish member of the Vitzi Rend, founded and presided by Regent Horthy, Professor Lszl Karsai, a historian at the University of Szeged in Hungary, wrote the Forward. Karsai reference was to Admiral Miklos Horthy, Hungarys ruler from 1920 to 1944 and founder of the modern Vitz order.

Karsai, who is also director of the Holocaust Center of the Hungarian Jewish Museum and Archives and head of the Yad Vashem Research Group in Hungary, added that one informant, a Holocaust survivor told him some 20 years ago, that one or two members, converted Jews, were allowed to join this organization. Out of approximately 29,000 members, this is not too much,

Another Hungarian historian of this period, Rbert Kerepeszki of the University of Debrecen, presented his research findings in 2014 and concluded that the Vitzi Rend was radically rightist, ultra-Nationalist as well as anti-Semitic, never admitting Jews to their ranks.

Historian Szilrd Ttrai, of Etvs Lornd University in Budapest, points out in his study of the organizations that the leadership of the Vitzi Rend used administrative means to ensure that Jews that would not be qualified to join. Members who wished to marry, for example, were required to ask the Vitzi Rend for permission, and by the late 1930s had to provide the birth certificates and baptism records of the prospective wifes grandparents. A Vitzi Rend member could therefore not marry the granddaughter of Jews, let alone a woman who was Jewish herself.

The false attribution of incorrect historical facts to Dek is not to the only significant inaccuracy in the Vitzi Rend page. The Wikipedia entry claims that members of the organization received confiscated Jewish-owned properties after the German occupation of Hungary, when in fact the Vitzi Rend received Jewish land as early as 1939, under the Horthy regimes anti-Jewish laws. This inaccuracy unlike the incorrect information regarding Jewish members appears to have been part of the entry prior to the controversy surrounding Gorka.

Journalists are required by the ethics of their profession to fact-check and reach out to multiple sources to ensure that information is as accurate as possible. Opinion writers, and contributors to information-aggregating sites like Wikipedia, are often not held to that standard.

There is no historical evidence of Jews ever being allowed to become full-fledged members of the Vitzi Rend.

Contact Lili Bayer at feedback@forward.com or follow her on Twitter, @liliebayer

Originally posted here:
Controversy Over Trump Aide Gorka Sparks A Wikipedia Editors War - Forward