After it was reported last week that the NYPD edited Wikipedia entries about alleged instances of police brutality, the department has admitted to changing one of them.
Capital, who made the original report, says a police spokesperson confirmed the edits. However, according to Capital, the NYPD claims it was only able to identify the individual who amended the Eric Garner page:
While police have identified the editor of a page on Eric Garner as working from NYPD computers outside 1 Police Plaza, they would not identify the person; furthermore, officials are unsure who was responsible for other edits to Wikipedia pages about police-involved civilian deaths.
We are conducting an internal investigation to identify what member of the service may have accessed the Department’s server. These incidents did not originate from computers located at Police Headquarters, Deputy Commissioner Stephen Davis said of two edits to the Death of Eric Garner Wikipedia page on Dec. 3, 2014.
According to the Washington Post, the edits clash with Wikipedia's policy regarding conflict of interest:
The site, in the interest of maintaining the neutrality of its articles, strongly discourages people from editing articles in which they might have a personal or professional stake. Wikipedia’s policy is outlined in more detail here: When advancing outside interests is more important to an editor than advancing the aims of Wikipedia, that editor stands in a conflict of interest.
[via Capital and Washington Post]
