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{{Infobox website
| name = @congressedits
| logo =
| logocaption =
| screenshot =
| collapsible =
| collapsetext =
| caption =
| url = {{URL|twitter.com/congressedits}}
| slogan =
| commercial =
| type = Twitter account
| registration =
| language = English
| num_users =
| content_license =
| owner =
| author =
| launch_date = {{start date and age|2014|7|8}}
| alexa =
| revenue =
| current_status = Suspended
| footnotes =
}}
'''CongressEdits''' (or '''@congressedits''') was an automated [[Twitter]] account created in May 2014 that tweeted changes to [[Wikipedia]] articles that originated from [[IP address]]es within [[Wikipedia:Congressional staffer edits|the ranges assigned to]] the [[United States Congress]]. The changes could have been made by anyone using a computer on the U.S. Capitol complex's computer network, including both staff of U.S. elected representatives and senators as well as visitors such as journalists, constituents, tourists, and lobbyists. Previous to this, the best information about what [[congressional staffer]]s were editing was found in the articles [[U.S. Congressional staff edits to Wikipedia]] and [[Wikipedia:Congressional staffer edits]], which are manually updated. CongressEdits has been called a [[Watchdog journalism|watchdog]] by [[NBC News]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nbcnews.com/tech/social-media/twitter-watchdog-keeps-tabs-wikipedia-edits-congress-n156391 |title=Twitter Watchdog Keeps Tabs on Wikipedia Edits from Congress |publisher=NBC News |date=July 15, 2014 |accessdate=2014-07-16}}</ref> Twitter suspended the account in late 2018.
== History ==
CongressEdits was written by and was run by Ed Summers, who was inspired by a friend's tweet about Parliament WikiEdits,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.twitter.com/parliamentedits |title=Parliament WikiEdits |publisher=Twitter.com |date= |accessdate=2014-07-16}}</ref> which performs the same function for the staffers of [[Parliament of the United Kingdom]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Gallagher |first=Sean |url=https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2014/07/congressedits-tweets-anonymous-wikipedia-edits-from-capitol-hill/ |title=@Congressedits tweets anonymous Wikipedia edits from Capitol Hill |publisher=Ars Technica |date=2014-07-11 |accessdate=2014-07-16}}</ref> It has been credited for inspiring similar bots in other countries.<ref name="nytimes1">{{cite news|last1=Willis|first1=Derek|title=With Twitter's Help, Watch Congress Edit Wikipedia|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/15/upshot/twitter-wikipedia-and-a-closer-eye-on-congress.html?_r=0|work=The New York Times|date=July 14, 2014}}</ref> Summers wrote that his "hope for @congressedits wasn't to expose inanity, or belittle our [[elected official]]s."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://inkdroid.org/journal/2014/07/10/why-congressedits/|accessdate=2014-07-15|title=why @congressedits?|publisher=Inkdroid.org}}</ref> He emphasized that he did not see edits to such articles as ''[[Step Up 3D]]'', ''[[It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia]]'', or [[Horse head mask]] as "something to make fun of," and points to "substantial edits like changing a [[Congressperson]]'s party affiliation from Democrat to Independent."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://techpresident.com/news/25188/congressedits-hopes-see-more-wikipedians-congress |title=@Congressedits Hopes to See More Wikipedians in Congress |publisher=TechPresident |date= |accessdate=2014-07-16}}</ref> Ultimately, he wanted to see Congressional staffers [[log into]] Wikipedia, identifying themselves to use their knowledge of the issues and history to help make Wikipedia better.<ref name="nytimes1"/>
Tweets since November 6, 2017 included screenshots of [[wp:diff|the specific changes made to the article]].<ref>https://twitter.com/congressedits/status/927650736963506177</ref>
== Source code ==
The code for the [[Internet bot|bot]] itself is [[open-source software]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://github.com/edsu/anon|accessdate=2014-07-15|title=anon project, formerly congressedits, at github.com}}</ref> and can be configured to watch for anonymous edits from any IP ranges or individual IP addresses.
==Controversy==
On July 25, 2014, [[Wikipedia]]'s co-founder [[Jimmy Wales]] told the [[BBC]] that the @congressedits Twitter feed may have been counterproductive. Referring to a [[Wikipedia administrators|Wikipedia administrator]]'s 10-day editing block, imposed on July 24 against a shared address within the range assigned to the [[United States House of Representatives|U.S House of Representatives]], for disruptive editing, Wales said, "There is a belief from some of the [Wikipedia] community that it only provoked someone—some prankster there in the office—to have an audience now for the pranks, and actually encouraged them rather than discouraged them."<ref>{{cite web|last=Miller |first=Joe |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-28481876 |title=Wikipedia blocks 'disruptive' page edits from US Congress |publisher=BBC |date=2014-07-25 |accessdate=2014-07-26}}</ref>
CongressEdits was credited<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mashable.com/2014/12/10/senate-wikipedia-torture-report/|accessdate=2014-12-10|title=Senate staffer tries to scrub 'torture' reference from Wikipedia's CIA torture article|publisher=Mashable}}</ref> with bringing to light edits to [[Senate Intelligence Committee report on CIA torture]] by a [[United States Senate]] shared address on December 9 and 10, 2014, which removed the phrase "(a euphemism for [[torture]])", with revision notes of "removing bias"; however, these edits were soon reverted.
In 2017, the bot revealed many instances of disruptive edits by apparent Congressional [[interns]],<ref name="interns">{{Cite news|url=https://twitter.com/congressedits/status/928645430249787392|title=congress-edits on Twitter|work=Twitter|access-date=2018-09-27|language=en}}</ref> ranging from commentary on pop culture<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://twitter.com/congressedits/status/920396207045971968|title=congress-edits on Twitter|work=Twitter |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171017211936/https://twitter.com/congressedits/status/920396207045971968 |archive-date=2017-10-17 }}</ref> to inserting unsourced and controversial information about living people<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://twitter.com/congressedits/status/943213904141934592|title=congress-edits on Twitter|work=Twitter|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180209074122/https://twitter.com/congressedits/status/943213904141934592 |archive-date=2018-02-09 }}</ref> to direct communication with followers of the account.<ref name=interns /><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://twitter.com/congressedits/status/1045433493952638976|title=congress-edits on Twitter|work=Twitter|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180928172714/https://twitter.com/congressedits/status/1045433493952638976 |archive-date=2018-09-28 }}</ref>
In September and early October 2018, during the [[Brett Kavanaugh]] Supreme Court appointment hearings, Republican senators were [[Doxing|doxxed]] by Congressional IP editors who inserted home addresses and phone numbers into Wikipedia articles; the private information was tweeted to the bot's around 65,000 followers before it was scrubbed from the articles.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/judiciary-committee-members-doxxed-during-kavanaugh-testimony_us_5badb651e4b0b4d308d195f4|title=Judiciary Committee Members Doxxed During Kavanaugh Testimony|date=September 28, 2018}}</ref> Following additional doxxing by Congressional IP editors, Twitter suspended the account.<ref name="Roll Call">{{cite news |last1=Tully-McManus |first1=Katherine |title=Tensions Over Kavanaugh Drive Senate Into Tightened Security |url=https://www.rollcall.com/news/politics/tensions-kavanaugh-drive-senate-tightened-security |accessdate=October 4, 2018 |work=[[Roll Call]] |date=October 3, 2018 |language=en}}</ref>
==Notes==
*{{cite news|last1=Hughes|first1=Sarah Anne|title=Congress Edits On Wikipedia: It's Always Sunny, Corpus Christi, And Horse Head Mask|url=http://dcist.com/2014/07/twitter_bot_reveals_wikipedia_edits.php|work=DCist|date=July 14, 2014|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140716170656/http://dcist.com/2014/07/twitter_bot_reveals_wikipedia_edits.php|archivedate=July 16, 2014|df=}}
*{{cite news|last1=Gallagher|first1=Sean|title=@Congressedits tweets anonymous Wikipedia edits from Capitol Hill|url=https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2014/07/congressedits-tweets-anonymous-wikipedia-edits-from-capitol-hill/|work=Ars Technica|date=July 11, 2014}}
*{{cite web|last1=Levine|first1=Gregg|title=Those who do not learn history are doomed to retweet it|url=http://america.aljazeera.com/blogs/scrutineer/2014/7/11/those-who-do-notlearnhistoryaredoomedtoretweetit.html|publisher=Al Jazeera|date=July 11, 2014}}
*{{cite news|last1=Connors|first1=Devin|title=@CongressEdits Twitter Bot Highlights Anonymous Congress Wikipedia Edits|url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/136127-CongressEdits-Twitter-Bot-Highlights-Anonymous-Congress-Wikipedia-Edits|work=The Escapist|date=14 July 2014}}
*{{cite news|last1=Murphy|first1=David|title=New @congressedits Twitter Account Tracks Anonymous Wikipedia Updates|url=https://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2460813,00.asp|work=PCMag.com|date=July 12, 2014}}
*{{cite news|last1=Mak|first1=Tim|title=@CongressEdits Helps You Track Your Congressman's Vanity in Real Time|url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/07/14/congressedits-helps-you-track-your-congressman-s-vanity-in-real-time.html|work=The Daily Beast|date=July 14, 2014}}
*{{cite news|last1=Garber|first1=Megan|title=Okay, Who Edited the 'Choco Taco' Wikipedia Page From Congress?|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/07/okay-who-edited-the-choco-taco-wikipedia-page-from-a-congressional-computer/374488/|work=The Atlantic|date=July 15, 2014}}
*{{cite news|last1=Uberti|first1=David|title=6 Wikipedia edits made from Capitol Hill|url=http://www.cjr.org/united_states_project/6_wikipedia_edits_made_from_ca.php|work=Columbia Journalism Review|date=July 15, 2014}}
*{{cite news|last1=Collins|first1=Ben|title=The Congressional Intern Secretly Vandalizing Wikipedia|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-congressional-intern-secretly-vandalizing-wikipedia|work=The Daily Beast|date=December 21, 2017}}
== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}
== External links ==
* {{Twitter}}
{{COI on Wikipedia}}
[[Category:Internet properties established in 2014]]
[[Category:Twitter accounts]]
[[Category:Wikipedia]]
[[Category:United States Congresses]]
| name = @congressedits
| logo =
| logocaption =
| screenshot =
| collapsible =
| collapsetext =
| caption =
| url = {{URL|twitter.com/congressedits}}
| slogan =
| commercial =
| type = Twitter account
| registration =
| language = English
| num_users =
| content_license =
| owner =
| author =
| launch_date = {{start date and age|2014|7|8}}
| alexa =
| revenue =
| current_status = Suspended
| footnotes =
}}
'''CongressEdits''' (or '''@congressedits''') was an automated [[Twitter]] account created in May 2014 that tweeted changes to [[Wikipedia]] articles that originated from [[IP address]]es within [[Wikipedia:Congressional staffer edits|the ranges assigned to]] the [[United States Congress]]. The changes could have been made by anyone using a computer on the U.S. Capitol complex's computer network, including both staff of U.S. elected representatives and senators as well as visitors such as journalists, constituents, tourists, and lobbyists. Previous to this, the best information about what [[congressional staffer]]s were editing was found in the articles [[U.S. Congressional staff edits to Wikipedia]] and [[Wikipedia:Congressional staffer edits]], which are manually updated. CongressEdits has been called a [[Watchdog journalism|watchdog]] by [[NBC News]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nbcnews.com/tech/social-media/twitter-watchdog-keeps-tabs-wikipedia-edits-congress-n156391 |title=Twitter Watchdog Keeps Tabs on Wikipedia Edits from Congress |publisher=NBC News |date=July 15, 2014 |accessdate=2014-07-16}}</ref> Twitter suspended the account in late 2018.
== History ==
CongressEdits was written by and was run by Ed Summers, who was inspired by a friend's tweet about Parliament WikiEdits,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.twitter.com/parliamentedits |title=Parliament WikiEdits |publisher=Twitter.com |date= |accessdate=2014-07-16}}</ref> which performs the same function for the staffers of [[Parliament of the United Kingdom]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Gallagher |first=Sean |url=https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2014/07/congressedits-tweets-anonymous-wikipedia-edits-from-capitol-hill/ |title=@Congressedits tweets anonymous Wikipedia edits from Capitol Hill |publisher=Ars Technica |date=2014-07-11 |accessdate=2014-07-16}}</ref> It has been credited for inspiring similar bots in other countries.<ref name="nytimes1">{{cite news|last1=Willis|first1=Derek|title=With Twitter's Help, Watch Congress Edit Wikipedia|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/15/upshot/twitter-wikipedia-and-a-closer-eye-on-congress.html?_r=0|work=The New York Times|date=July 14, 2014}}</ref> Summers wrote that his "hope for @congressedits wasn't to expose inanity, or belittle our [[elected official]]s."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://inkdroid.org/journal/2014/07/10/why-congressedits/|accessdate=2014-07-15|title=why @congressedits?|publisher=Inkdroid.org}}</ref> He emphasized that he did not see edits to such articles as ''[[Step Up 3D]]'', ''[[It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia]]'', or [[Horse head mask]] as "something to make fun of," and points to "substantial edits like changing a [[Congressperson]]'s party affiliation from Democrat to Independent."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://techpresident.com/news/25188/congressedits-hopes-see-more-wikipedians-congress |title=@Congressedits Hopes to See More Wikipedians in Congress |publisher=TechPresident |date= |accessdate=2014-07-16}}</ref> Ultimately, he wanted to see Congressional staffers [[log into]] Wikipedia, identifying themselves to use their knowledge of the issues and history to help make Wikipedia better.<ref name="nytimes1"/>
Tweets since November 6, 2017 included screenshots of [[wp:diff|the specific changes made to the article]].<ref>https://twitter.com/congressedits/status/927650736963506177</ref>
== Source code ==
The code for the [[Internet bot|bot]] itself is [[open-source software]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://github.com/edsu/anon|accessdate=2014-07-15|title=anon project, formerly congressedits, at github.com}}</ref> and can be configured to watch for anonymous edits from any IP ranges or individual IP addresses.
==Controversy==
On July 25, 2014, [[Wikipedia]]'s co-founder [[Jimmy Wales]] told the [[BBC]] that the @congressedits Twitter feed may have been counterproductive. Referring to a [[Wikipedia administrators|Wikipedia administrator]]'s 10-day editing block, imposed on July 24 against a shared address within the range assigned to the [[United States House of Representatives|U.S House of Representatives]], for disruptive editing, Wales said, "There is a belief from some of the [Wikipedia] community that it only provoked someone—some prankster there in the office—to have an audience now for the pranks, and actually encouraged them rather than discouraged them."<ref>{{cite web|last=Miller |first=Joe |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-28481876 |title=Wikipedia blocks 'disruptive' page edits from US Congress |publisher=BBC |date=2014-07-25 |accessdate=2014-07-26}}</ref>
CongressEdits was credited<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mashable.com/2014/12/10/senate-wikipedia-torture-report/|accessdate=2014-12-10|title=Senate staffer tries to scrub 'torture' reference from Wikipedia's CIA torture article|publisher=Mashable}}</ref> with bringing to light edits to [[Senate Intelligence Committee report on CIA torture]] by a [[United States Senate]] shared address on December 9 and 10, 2014, which removed the phrase "(a euphemism for [[torture]])", with revision notes of "removing bias"; however, these edits were soon reverted.
In 2017, the bot revealed many instances of disruptive edits by apparent Congressional [[interns]],<ref name="interns">{{Cite news|url=https://twitter.com/congressedits/status/928645430249787392|title=congress-edits on Twitter|work=Twitter|access-date=2018-09-27|language=en}}</ref> ranging from commentary on pop culture<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://twitter.com/congressedits/status/920396207045971968|title=congress-edits on Twitter|work=Twitter |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171017211936/https://twitter.com/congressedits/status/920396207045971968 |archive-date=2017-10-17 }}</ref> to inserting unsourced and controversial information about living people<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://twitter.com/congressedits/status/943213904141934592|title=congress-edits on Twitter|work=Twitter|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180209074122/https://twitter.com/congressedits/status/943213904141934592 |archive-date=2018-02-09 }}</ref> to direct communication with followers of the account.<ref name=interns /><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://twitter.com/congressedits/status/1045433493952638976|title=congress-edits on Twitter|work=Twitter|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180928172714/https://twitter.com/congressedits/status/1045433493952638976 |archive-date=2018-09-28 }}</ref>
In September and early October 2018, during the [[Brett Kavanaugh]] Supreme Court appointment hearings, Republican senators were [[Doxing|doxxed]] by Congressional IP editors who inserted home addresses and phone numbers into Wikipedia articles; the private information was tweeted to the bot's around 65,000 followers before it was scrubbed from the articles.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/judiciary-committee-members-doxxed-during-kavanaugh-testimony_us_5badb651e4b0b4d308d195f4|title=Judiciary Committee Members Doxxed During Kavanaugh Testimony|date=September 28, 2018}}</ref> Following additional doxxing by Congressional IP editors, Twitter suspended the account.<ref name="Roll Call">{{cite news |last1=Tully-McManus |first1=Katherine |title=Tensions Over Kavanaugh Drive Senate Into Tightened Security |url=https://www.rollcall.com/news/politics/tensions-kavanaugh-drive-senate-tightened-security |accessdate=October 4, 2018 |work=[[Roll Call]] |date=October 3, 2018 |language=en}}</ref>
==Notes==
*{{cite news|last1=Hughes|first1=Sarah Anne|title=Congress Edits On Wikipedia: It's Always Sunny, Corpus Christi, And Horse Head Mask|url=http://dcist.com/2014/07/twitter_bot_reveals_wikipedia_edits.php|work=DCist|date=July 14, 2014|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140716170656/http://dcist.com/2014/07/twitter_bot_reveals_wikipedia_edits.php|archivedate=July 16, 2014|df=}}
*{{cite news|last1=Gallagher|first1=Sean|title=@Congressedits tweets anonymous Wikipedia edits from Capitol Hill|url=https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2014/07/congressedits-tweets-anonymous-wikipedia-edits-from-capitol-hill/|work=Ars Technica|date=July 11, 2014}}
*{{cite web|last1=Levine|first1=Gregg|title=Those who do not learn history are doomed to retweet it|url=http://america.aljazeera.com/blogs/scrutineer/2014/7/11/those-who-do-notlearnhistoryaredoomedtoretweetit.html|publisher=Al Jazeera|date=July 11, 2014}}
*{{cite news|last1=Connors|first1=Devin|title=@CongressEdits Twitter Bot Highlights Anonymous Congress Wikipedia Edits|url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/136127-CongressEdits-Twitter-Bot-Highlights-Anonymous-Congress-Wikipedia-Edits|work=The Escapist|date=14 July 2014}}
*{{cite news|last1=Murphy|first1=David|title=New @congressedits Twitter Account Tracks Anonymous Wikipedia Updates|url=https://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2460813,00.asp|work=PCMag.com|date=July 12, 2014}}
*{{cite news|last1=Mak|first1=Tim|title=@CongressEdits Helps You Track Your Congressman's Vanity in Real Time|url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/07/14/congressedits-helps-you-track-your-congressman-s-vanity-in-real-time.html|work=The Daily Beast|date=July 14, 2014}}
*{{cite news|last1=Garber|first1=Megan|title=Okay, Who Edited the 'Choco Taco' Wikipedia Page From Congress?|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/07/okay-who-edited-the-choco-taco-wikipedia-page-from-a-congressional-computer/374488/|work=The Atlantic|date=July 15, 2014}}
*{{cite news|last1=Uberti|first1=David|title=6 Wikipedia edits made from Capitol Hill|url=http://www.cjr.org/united_states_project/6_wikipedia_edits_made_from_ca.php|work=Columbia Journalism Review|date=July 15, 2014}}
*{{cite news|last1=Collins|first1=Ben|title=The Congressional Intern Secretly Vandalizing Wikipedia|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-congressional-intern-secretly-vandalizing-wikipedia|work=The Daily Beast|date=December 21, 2017}}
== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}
== External links ==
* {{Twitter}}
{{COI on Wikipedia}}
[[Category:Internet properties established in 2014]]
[[Category:Twitter accounts]]
[[Category:Wikipedia]]
[[Category:United States Congresses]]
