Tories caught fiddling Wikipedia entry

 

Gallery

By Barry Collins

Posted on 12 Feb 2009 at 08:48

The Tories have been caught falsifying a Wikipedia entry in a bid to embarrass the Prime Minister.

Gordon Brown and Tory leader David Cameron became embroiled in a bizarre House of Commons spat, when the pair debated the age of artist Titian.

The Prime Minister told the House: "I'm reminded of the story of Titian, who's the great painter who reached the age of 90, finished the last of his nearly 100 brilliant paintings, and he said at the end of it, 'I'm finally beginning to learn how to paint,' and that is where we are," referring to the ongoing credit crunch.

He was later upbraided by the Conservative leader, who claimed: "You told us the other day you were like Titian aged 90. The fact is Titian died at 86."

The date on which Titian died is a matter of some debate, with Wikipedia claiming that the artist was 91 at the time of his death when Cameron launched his attack.

But just four minutes after Cameron spoke, someone with an IP address registered with Tory HQ altered the artist's date of death to back up Mr Cameron's claims, according to the BBC.

A Conservative spokesman blamed the edit on "an over-eager member of staff putting right an incorrect entry on Wikipedia," according to the BBC report.

However, the Titian entry now states that he died aged 87/88.

It's not the first time Wikipedia has been the subject of party politics. Last year it was revealed the Department of Health had been banned from Wikipedia due to the amount of edits being made by its staff, while the Ministry of Defence and other Government departments also admitted "correcting" entries.

Have these people got nothing better do?