Tampering with Titian
Who would have thought that a seemingly innocent remark about the painter Titian would lead to political points scoring and would drag the weaknesses of Wikipedia back under the spotlight?
At the World Economic Forum, Switzerland, on 30th January, Gordon Brown baffled the other world leaders present when he compared himself to the painter Titian and mentioned in this remark that Titian died at the age of 90. In a snappy comeback, just 12 days later, David Cameron taunted "The prime minister never gets his facts right. You told us the other day you were like Titian who died aged 90. The fact is Titian died at 86." Such is the quality of parliamentary debate these days that a jibe about the accuracy of the age of a man who died over 400 years ago was considered a major victory for the opposition.
But was Brown wrong and Cameron right? Academics agree that no one is exactly sure just when Titian was born or died, but who needs to ask academics when one can consult Wikipedia? The online encyclopedia which anyone can edit did indeed show Titian to be 86 when he died, but someone at the BBC spotted that the crucial dates had been edited recently, just minutes after David Cameron made his remarks in the House, and checking the IP number associated with the edit traced back to Conservative Central Office. When confronted with these facts, the Conservative Party spokesman admitted to his office making the change and said "This was an over-eager member of staff putting right an incorrect entry on Wickipedia". Incorrect? Only an art historian is qualified to make that judgement.
Wikipedia is a great concept but journalists and politicians should know better than to treat it as a definitive source. On February 9th, the German government appointed Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg as Minister of the Economy. Herr zu Guttenberg is blessed with no less than nine middle names, Maria Nikolaus Johann Jacob Philipp Franz Joseph Sylvester Freiherr, although according to Wikipedia he has ten, with the inclusion of Wilhelm. When he was appointed, German journalists had obviously rushed to Wikipedia for background information and newspapers such as Der Spiegel included Wilhelm in their write ups. When it was pointed out that Wilhelm was incorrect, the Wikipedia contributor was quick to correct the error. However, a few days later, someone else updated the Wiki entry to reinsert the name Wilhelm, citing an article in Der Spiegel as the authoritative source of this information.
21st February 2009
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