[WikiEN-l] PR firm accused of whitewashing Wikipedia article on Maldives

[Fred Bauder]

Regardless of the truth, reliance on reliable published sources should
resolve most of these charges and countercharges. That is what we expect
of a public relations firm, both that they identify their purpose in
editing and cite appropriate sources.

Fred



> 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&oldid=15778660>
> *:
>
> “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
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