Did Mike Pence's Office Edit His Wikipedia Page To Make It More Flattering?

WASHINGTON -- The office of Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) appears to have been editing the congressman's Wikipedia page to present a more flattering portrait of the hardline conservative lawmaker.

According to the entry editing history for the Mike Pence Wikipedia page, a user named "HouseofRep." made six separate revisions of the page in April of this year, ranging from minor tweaks to significant overhauls. Those revisions included a host of content from Pence's official bio at his website, prompting a review for potential copyright infringement by Wikipedia. The user HouseofRep. responded to the review, posting, "Just to note, the Early Life, Education and Career section is currently correct. We own the rights to his bio page at mikepence.house.gov and have emailed wikipedia verifying that." The website mikepence.house.gov is the congressman's official website.

The user removed a reference to Pence's old job as a conservative talk radio host, and added several awards, leadership positions and positive descriptions of Pence's conservative record. HouseofRep. also changed the heading of a section labeled "Early life, Vagina, Education and Career" to read simply, "Early life, Education and Career." In addition, the user removed the phrase "chris is a loser" from another subheading.

Pence is currently running for governor of Indiana.

Congressional staffers frequently spend time editing Wikipedia pages for lawmakers, so much so that there is even a Wikipedia page devoted media attention from Capitol Hill staffer edits of Wikipedia entries. Mike Pence's office did not respond to a request for comment.

Comments

[lvdragonlady]

08:37 PM on 08/22/2011

WHY, because he is one or because he has not clue what one is?

[Frank David Nall]

12:27 PM on 08/22/2011

Suppose you were an idiot and suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself.

[ConcernedProgressive]

11:57 AM on 08/22/2011

In a fierce rebuke to Mike Pence, wikipedia has refused to remove his face from his page.

[dmm1047]

08:18 AM on 08/22/2011

According to this article, people can edit a Wikipedia page? And here I thought Wikipedia gathered it's own information, established and edited pages themselves. Guess I was wrong.

[mistahshow]

06:51 AM on 08/22/2011

Precisely why Wikipedia is not a reliable source of information.

[No Longer Amused 25]

01:20 AM on 08/22/2011

Cuz he's a huge vagina, that's why!

[Boopsie2008]

11:33 PM on 08/21/2011

Why did U.S. House Rep. Mike Pence's Wikipedia page have a subtitle "Vagina"?

Probably because of the rally in support of Planned Parenthood that occurred after he introduced a bill to ban federal funding for family planning clinics that offer abortions. Evidently the signs the women had were rather direct in their messages, including "Honk for (healthy) vaginas" and "My Vagina, My Choice".

Note that the political positions section of his Wikipedia page currently is dead silent on his anti-abortion bill and the outcry that followed.

The very serious February 20, 2011 Vagina article, which rather hilariously appears in the "Ball State Daily News," can be found here:

http://www.bsudailynews.com/news/feminists-for-action-rally-in-downtown-muncie-against-rep-mike-pence-s-proposed-bill-1.2475269

[soapington]

11:32 PM on 08/21/2011

This is where the relationship with AOL really pays off. If Huffpo didn't have the all those expensive battalions of first class investigative journalists it can afford nowadays, a story like this might have never seen the light of day.

[Ed Haskell]

09:35 PM on 08/21/2011

Hey, just for fun, why don't we all go over to wikipedia and give it a good editing for balance. It sounds as if it needs it...

[Neico]

06:06 PM on 08/21/2011

Is he afraid of the VAGINA?

I wonder what's in his pants?

LMAO....the correct terminology being used to describe genital parts and this man wants to erase them?

Well, I guess PU**IES, D**KS, C**TS, are ok and can be used in the classrooms. Yep, that will win alot of parents over.

[LucieLee]

02:04 PM on 08/21/2011

Republicans are experts at revisionist editing.

[Michael Zand]

01:42 PM on 08/21/2011

Why is this even a story in Huff Po? Someone hacked Pence's Wikipedia page and they fixed it. So What? I don't like the guy but the quality of journalism here is slipping day by day.

[SteveM39]

07:34 PM on 08/21/2011

Exactly. I kept trying to figure out why the word was supposed to be there. It sounded scandalous that it was removed.

[Javalation]

01:15 PM on 08/21/2011

I'm more offended by the staff's removal of an accurate fact, that he was a conservative hate radio jock, than the removal of a word that obviously didn't fit or make sense. Wikipedia should reinsert facts that politician attempt to remove in their ongoing effort to revise history.

[gnorrfa]

12:43 PM on 08/21/2011

I always thought Mike Pence was hatched and he just confirmed it. Now to get rid of that word "orifice" and all it's nasty permutations, though it fits him well, or is that t-shirt to tight?

[wayne the pain]

11:05 AM on 08/21/2011

A right wing phony whose ego and ambition knows no bounds! He is one of the most medicore blow hards I have ever seen in politics. He works so hard on that image and he still comes off as "Ted Baxter" of the old Mary Tyler Moore Show!

[oldfatman]

11:16 AM on 08/22/2011

Very well stated ,Wayne

[ETT]

11:35 AM on 08/22/2011

Wayne: My sentiments, exactly! F&F The minute I saw that idiot's face, "Ted Baxter" came to mind!