The participatory encyclopedia becomes, according to events and legislative changes, a communication battlefield for public and political figures who wish to appear in a better light.
To function properly, the platform requires full transparency from its voluntary contributors. In the case of additions made by individuals more directly involved, they have an obligation to inform the community. What an associate of the current Minister of Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion, Christophe Béchu, failed to do by making changes to the latter’s page.
Thirty alterations made
While checking the recent additions on this one, a volunteer “patroller” noticed that a new account recently registered was doing its best to delete or alter passages unfavorable to the minister. After the cancellation of these unjustified alterations, a monitoring of the activities of the account was put in place. The latter, under the pseudonym “AminataDkt”, then ceased all contributions after having made about thirty in two years.
It will not have been too difficult to find the identity of the person behind these actions, since it is Aminata Diakité, digital communication adviser to the minister when he was mayor of Angers. With Mediapart, it justifies itself: “ When I took office in the summer of 2020, I realized that there was wrong information, there was information missing, the dates were wrong. So I decided to take it back “.
Still working in this town hall, the councilor is not part of the current cabinet of the minister. But, another account, less nominative, remains active on the page, with an IP address located in Angers, and acting during the office hours of the mayor. Among the rather factual additions, we also find the deletion of paragraphs that are unflattering for Mr. Béchu. Such as references to a report by the Court of Auditors on the management of certain projects by the former mayor, or on the withdrawal by the municipality, in 2016, of posters on HIV prevention.
A non-isolated case
If Christophe Béchu says he is not aware of the actions of his former collaborator, the position of contributor of this one is problematic, especially when we see the nature of certain modifications made. With a page visited by tens of thousands of people just on the day of his appointment, in July 2022, the minister is an important political figure. Such a desire to smooth its liabilities cannot go unnoticed.
A survey of World, conducted in June 2022, found that more than 50% of members of the outgoing legislature had, at least once, made changes to their page. Wikipedia administrators regret that their platforms can serve as ” promotional showcase “. For example, information about personalities from the government and the National Assembly at the time, concerning among others Marlène Schiappa and Patricia Mirallès, may have been subject to favorable alterations while they were still in office.
If it is possible to question the integrity and sincerity of the individuals concerned, one can only fear that such a trend could become a little more democratized. Avisa Partners, for example, had already offered its services to French billionaire Bernard Arnault for “ to improve his Wikipedia page.
Source : Mediapart
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