Wikipedia Bans Editing on Lee Myung-bak Entry

The Korean version of Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia that anybody can contribute to and edit, has decided to put a four-month suspension on modification of an article on President Lee Myung-bak.

Wikipedia Korea (ko.wikipedia.org) said on Wednesday that it will take a “semi-protection measure” on its content about Lee from June 8 to Oct. 8, citing repeated vandalism.

The measure disables editing from anonymous and newly registered accounts. It is used for preventing vandalism when blocking users individually is not a feasible option, such as in cases where there is a high rate of vandalism from a wide range of anonymous IP addresses.

Wikipedia has remained neutral on Lee. Its entry on the president tells about his achievements as CEO of Hyundai Construction and Seoul City Mayor, and offers criticisms.

The measure came as it became increasingly difficult to stop anti-government online users from adding biased and unconfirmed information on the mad cow scare.

An online user with the ID address “222.238.XXX.XXX” added to the entry on Lee, “He is an insane bastard. He will ruin the country.” Another user with the ID address “210.127.XXX.XXX” attempted to change the title of one of Lee’s publications from “Cheonggye Stream Flows toward the Future,” to “Beef with Mad Cow Disease Goes into Children’s Mouths.”

The semi-protection measure has been taken by an administrator selected by Wikipedia.

The measure is a side effect of the collective intelligence among Korean Internet users.

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