Minivan News, an independent article on the Maldives, has published accusations that a PR company whitewashed an article on the Maldives. "A data-mining tool called WikiScanner <http://wikiscanner.virgil.gr/> has purportedly revealed PR firm Hill & Knowlton deleted a number of statements critical of the former government while they were employed by ex-President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom. According to the online tool, edits on the Wikipedia entry, *Politics of the Maldives <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_the_Maldives>*, included the removal of the following*passage<http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?diff=prev&oldi… *: “President Gayoom has systematically suppressed any and all political activity in the Maldives. His use of election rigging and imprisonment of political activists have all ensured that he went unchallenged for over 26 years in office. “President Gayoom routinely uses torture, propaganda, and censorship as a means to cling on to political power. “Independent news media is non-existent. The three running dailies are controlled by cabinet ministers of President Gayoom.” The company further moderated language on the absence of political parties in the Maldives, writing instead: “The Maldivian political system was based around the election of individuals, rather than the more common system of elections according to party platform.” (...) Critics of the former regime allege Hill & Knowlton was hired by ex-President Gayoom’s government to help him improve the country’s image following growing civil unrest and allegations of human rights abuses. But speaking to Minivan News today, Mohamed Hussein Shareef (Mundhu), spokesperson for Gayoom, said the company was recruited in early 2004, not to whitewash the government’s activities but to teach officials how to interface with the international media and develop a communications strategy. On the changes made to Wikipedia, he said he did not believe them to be illegitimate due to the questionable authority of the online encyclopedia, which can be edited by anyone. “Wikipedia is a point of view or an opinion. The MDP (Maldivian Democratic Party) used to play with the Wikipedia page on Gayoom all the time,” he said. “Just as someone has the right to call our government a human rights abusing government, as a government we had the right to say, no we’re not.” (More in article) Regards Keith