Congressman Deletes His Wikipedia 'Controversies'

Site quickly restores them about GOP's David Rivera
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 7, 2011 12:19 PM CDT
David Rivera Staffer Deletes His 'Controversies' From Wikipedia Entry
In this Oct. 20, 2010 file photo, Republican candidate for Congress David Rivera talks to reporters at an early voter location in Miami.   (AP Photo/Alan Diaz, File)

David Rivera’s been involved in a lot of controversies—so many that when Eric Cantor visited Miami last month, he refused to meet with him—but for a few minutes at a time, he’s had a clean slate on Wikipedia. Last month, Wikipedia editor “Lmveiga”—which is to say, Rivera’s press secretary, Leslie Veiga—went in and edited her boss's page, pasting in a list of “legislative accomplishments” straight from his campaign website, and deleting the entire “controversies” section, Politico reports.

Among the allegations in that section: That Rivera was named the defendant in a 1994 domestic abuse case (something he and the victim both say isn’t true), that he got into a car crash with a truck carrying fliers about that case, and that state law enforcement agencies are investigating $500,000 that a dog track paid to Rivera's mother after he lobbied for it as a state legislator. Wikipedia quickly restored the section, which was well-sourced. Veiga deleted them again, but it was again quickly restored. The page has now been locked, with the controversy section intact—complete with a line about Veiga’s attempts to edit it. (More David Rivera stories.)

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