Somebody at the CIA tweaked Oprah’s Wikipedia entry

The BBC reports that Wikipedia Scanner, a tool that can identify the source of edits to Wikipedia pages, revealed that workers from CIA computers have altered a number of Wikipedia entries. So what insightful additions did the Agency allegedly contribute? On the profile of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the tool indicates that a worker on ...

The BBC reports that Wikipedia Scanner, a tool that can identify the source of edits to Wikipedia pages, revealed that workers from CIA computers have altered a number of Wikipedia entries. So what insightful additions did the Agency allegedly contribute?

The BBC reports that Wikipedia Scanner, a tool that can identify the source of edits to Wikipedia pages, revealed that workers from CIA computers have altered a number of Wikipedia entries. So what insightful additions did the Agency allegedly contribute?

On the profile of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the tool indicates that a worker on the CIA network reportedly added the exclamation “Wahhhhhh!” before a section on the leader’s plans for his presidency.

A warning on the profile of the anonymous editor reads: “You have recently vandalised a Wikipedia article, and you are now being asked to stop this type of behaviour.”

The entries for Porter Goss, former CIA director, and Oprah Winfrey were also apparently edited by the CIA network user, though these changes were “more innocuous.”

Prerna Mankad is a researcher at Foreign Policy.

More from Foreign Policy

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping give a toast during a reception following their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow on March 21.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping give a toast during a reception following their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow on March 21.

Can Russia Get Used to Being China’s Little Brother?

The power dynamic between Beijing and Moscow has switched dramatically.

Xi and Putin shake hands while carrying red folders.
Xi and Putin shake hands while carrying red folders.

Xi and Putin Have the Most Consequential Undeclared Alliance in the World

It’s become more important than Washington’s official alliances today.

Russian President Vladimir Putin greets Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
Russian President Vladimir Putin greets Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

It’s a New Great Game. Again.

Across Central Asia, Russia’s brand is tainted by Ukraine, China’s got challenges, and Washington senses another opening.

Kurdish military officers take part in a graduation ceremony in Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, on Jan. 15.
Kurdish military officers take part in a graduation ceremony in Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, on Jan. 15.

Iraqi Kurdistan’s House of Cards Is Collapsing

The region once seemed a bright spot in the disorder unleashed by U.S. regime change. Today, things look bleak.