'Conflict of interest': GOP congressman shunned by Wikipedia for editing his own page

12 July 2023

Wikipedia has very strict policies on editing content, including a rule against editing one's own page in any way. Conservative Rep. Mike Lawler (R-New York), according to Daily Beast reporter Ursula Perano, violated that rule more than once.

"The longtime GOP operative was a prolific editor of his own Wikipedia content," Perano reports in an article published on July 12. "Lawler made 26 changes in total — which earned him a warning from site administrators that he was violating policy by editing his own content, and then an outright ban when Lawler did not heed the warning."

If Wikipedia administrators find out that someone is editing their own bio, they won't necessarily remove the bio altogether. But they will remove the parts that the person added or edited. As of Wednesday, July 12, Lawler still has a bio on Wikipedia that includes 23 links — including a link to Perano's Daily Beast article on him. But presumably, anything Lawyer added using his Wikipedia account was removed by administrators.

"A spokesperson for Lawler did not respond to multiple requests for comment or to confirm the account personally belonged to Lawler," Perano explains. "But the account's username —MichaelVLawler — is the same username Lawler uses on his personal Facebook and YouTube accounts. He also previously used @michaelvlawler on Twitter before changing the handle."

Perano adds, "According to open-source Wikipedia records, the edits were all made in 2021, while Lawler was serving as a New York assemblyman. Beyond authoring his self-made jump to his alma mater's notable alumni, he made several more straight-forward changes to his Wikipedia page."

The reporter notes that Lawler "added electoral statistics from his victory in 2020 over a Democratic assembly incumbent, buffed up his resume to note that he 'serves as the Ranker of the Government Operations Committee and as a member of the Aging, Banks, Education, and Housing Committees,' and changed his name on the page in one instance from 'Mike Lawler' to 'Michael V. Lawler.'"

"The edits might seem fair game, if a touch self-aggrandizing," Perano observes. "But where Lawler ran into trouble with Wikipedia was editing information about himself, which the site dubs as a conflict of interest and a violation of official policy. In May 2021, Lawler's account was flagged with a warning of the potential conflict of interest."

The Daily Beast's full report is available at this link (subscription required).

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