Editing Jim Prentice (section)

=== Wikipedia controversy ===

During the period of May 27, 2008, to June 4, 2008, edits originating from an [[IP address]] belonging to [[Industry Canada]] were made to the Jim Prentice article on [[Wikipedia]]. The edits included the removal of references to new copyright legislation (claiming that it did not exist) and the addition of two passages about Prentice's recent accomplishments as Minister of Industry.<ref name=CBC1>{{cite news | first = Peter | last = Nowak | title = Government buffing Prentice's Wikipedia entry | url = https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/government-buffing-prentice-s-wikipedia-entry-1.703403 | publisher = [[CBC News]] | location = Canada | access-date = 2008-06-04 | date=June 4, 2008}}</ref> Specifically, information about the copyright controversy was deleted from Prentice's biography by someone using an Industry Canada IP address.<ref name=CBC1/>

Jay Walsh, spokesman for the [[Wikimedia Foundation]], said in an interview there are tens of thousands of living people with biographies on Wikipedia, "so challenges about information are not uncommon." Walsh said neutrality of language and guarding against conflicts of interest are two of the central pillars of Wikipedia. He said, "The edits which should be trusted would come from people who don't possess a conflict of interest, in this case, it would be worthwhile saying that if someone is making edits from a computer within the government of Canada … if it was someone within that ministry, that would theoretically constitute a conflict of interest."<ref name=wikimedia1>{{cite web|url=http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Politics/2008/06/05/5785791-cp.html |title=Rewrite war rages on Wikipedia over Prentice biography and copyright law |publisher=cnews.canoe.ca |access-date=2008-06-05 |last=Cheadle |first=Bruce |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://archive.today/20080607084459/http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Politics/2008/06/05/5785791-cp.html |archive-date=June 7, 2008 }}
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