Virgil Griffith's WikiScanner exposes rampant self-interest
A program to pinpoint the source of Wikipedia edits indicates that alterations to the online encyclopedia have come from the Central Intelligence Agency, the Vatican, the Republican and Democratic parties, as well as Microsoft, Apple and Dell - all of whom either changed entries to make themselves look good, or enemies look bad.
WikiScanner creator Virgil Griffith, who's set to enter graduate school at Cal Tech, says he came up with the idea when he heard about congressional staffers who whitewashed their bosses' Wikipedia entries.