House of Representatives: Banned From Editing Wikipedia Because of Transphobic Edits
The House of Representatives has been banned from editing Wikipedia pages; at least, the House's IP address has been banned. The reason: a series of transphobic edits to certain Wikipedia pages.
One or more House staffers has been changing various Wikipedia changes, prompting the free online encyclopedia to ban the House's static IP address, according to the New York Daily News. The address has been suspended for 30 days.
The person in question, allegedly a woman, had been editing various pages related to transgender topics and people, explains the Daily News, including the page of actor Laverne Cox from the hit Netflix show "Orange Is the New Black."
In the edited page, Cox was described as "a man pretending to be a woman"; Cox is in real life transgender and plays one on the show.
However, this is not the first time the House's IP address has been banned from editing.
As late as mid-July, the House has come under scrutiny for editing various pages on Wikipedia, according to Newsweek, leading to an earlier 10-day ban. Pages edited included the one for the ice cream treat Choco Tacos, adding that the sweet is available in the House's vending machines.
The latest edits, unlike the previous ones, targeted articles concerning the transgender community, including one about Camp Trans, "an annual event that protests the exclusion of transgender women from a music festival," according to Business Insider.
The IP address 143.231.249.138 is linked to the House's computers and appears to be the source of many of the edits, which included the pages on "body integrity disorder," "gender identity disorder" and "transphobia," reports Business Insider. One user who claims to have edited the articles said they were "too pro-trans."
"When I attempted to add an alternative point of view regarding this topic ... it was reverted right away," said the anonymous user.
The Twitter account known as @congressedits, which monitors edits to Wikipedia by Congress IP addresses, reported the Laverne Cox incident.
The Human Rights Campaign, one of the nation's leading LGBT rights organizations, have called on Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) to open an investigation on the matter.
"At a time when more and more Americans are recognizing and upholding the rights and dignity of transgender Americans, it is an unwelcome reminder of how much work remains to be done," said Jeff Krehely, the organization's vice president and chief Foundation officer.
"Laverne Cox not only plays an inspirational character, but has inspired so many of us as an advocate for transgender equality," he added. "She deserves much better than this."
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