Wiki Knows All

Radley Balko | June 29, 2007

A strange twist in the already bizarre murder-suicide case involving WWE wrestler Chris Benoit:

Investigators are looking into who altered pro wrestler Chris Benoit’s Wikipedia entry to mention his wife’s death hours before authorities discovered the bodies of the couple and their 7-year-old son.

Benoit’s Wikipedia entry was altered early Monday to say that the wrestler had missed a match two days earlier because of his wife’s death.

[...]

Benoit’s page on Wikipedia, a reference site that allows users to add and edit information, was updated at 12:01 a.m. Monday, about 14 hours before authorities say the bodies were found. The reason he missed a match Saturday night was “stemming from the death of his wife Nancy,” it said.

Comments

Jack|6.29.07 @ 9:00AM|#

People make up or hear wild rumors all the time and race to wikipedia to claim credit for the "scoop." This is just old police not understandting a new media phenomenon

|6.29.07 @ 9:03AM|#

I heard that the update was made from a Stamford IP. WWE is HQ'd there. Not sure how valid that report is though.

Episiarch|6.29.07 @ 9:09AM|#

It's very simple. Wikipedia has become self-aware and is prescient (can see the future). It is also changing its name to Wintergreen.

|6.29.07 @ 9:14AM|#

Unfortunately, if Wikipedia has become self-aware then its next step will be to destroy humanity. That's what always happens.

|6.29.07 @ 9:20AM|#

This will become a Law & Order episode no doubt.

|6.29.07 @ 9:23AM|#

What if a self-aware Wikipedia wants Eric Dondero to defeat Ron Paul in the primary?

Grotius|6.29.07 @ 9:27AM|#

What, no reference to the Terminator movies yet?

Randolph Carter|6.29.07 @ 9:34AM|#

In other WWE stuff, apparently Vince McMahon recently faked his own death. Maybe they've got vats and vats of Chris Benoits under the Stamford facility.

Episiarch|6.29.07 @ 9:45AM|#

What, no reference to the Terminator movies yet?

Skynet on the phone for you, Gotius. It wants to know if your real name is John Connor.

Episiarch|6.29.07 @ 9:45AM|#

* Grotius

Anonymo the Anonymous|6.29.07 @ 9:48AM|#

http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Chris_Benoit_mystery_editor_confesses:_claims_%22terrible_coincidence%22

Long story short, the guy who made the edit is saying he hastily posted what was at the time, a completely unsubstantiated rumor from "several pro wresting web sites" that later bizarrely turned out to be true.

At first, this sounds like either A) an implausibly amazing coincidence or B) the poster somehow had personal knowledge of the deaths before authorities did, which would be some extreme shenanigans. But I think it's a little of both for C) a strange instance of the "telephone" game.

The dead wrestler had made contact with some colleagues, first saying he missed a flight, then that his wife and son had food poisoning and one of them had been hospitalized. The colleagues thought he didn't sound quite right and this was all a bit fishy; word gets around the wresting community that Benoit might have had some kind of family emergency involving someone getting hospitalized, and in passage through the Intertubes, this turns into a rumor that his wife is dead. Some guy puts this on Wikipedia for no good reason; then the horrible truth comes out.

Very strange, but not as nefarious as it seems at first.

Robert|6.29.07 @ 9:48AM|#

I always tell my students there's no harm in guessing, they might be right. Maybe I need to re-evaluate that advice.

Anonymo the Anonymous|6.29.07 @ 9:49AM|#

Fixed link

Grotius|6.29.07 @ 9:49AM|#

Episiarch,

Oh shit! ;)

|6.29.07 @ 10:09AM|#

Jimbo Wales for Governor of California!

|6.29.07 @ 10:33AM|#

Taktix®,

Jimbo lives here. In St. Petersburg, I believe. He can be governor of Florida, I suppose.

Speaking of murderous, self-aware artificial constructs, highnumber failed the Voight-Kampff Emapthy Test. Thought y'all should know, in case he posts here, trying to lure you to your deaths or something.

|6.29.07 @ 1:13PM|#

It's very simple. Wikipedia has become self-aware and is prescient (can see the future). It is also changing its name to Wintergreen Skynet.

|6.29.07 @ 2:40PM|#

First Eddie Guerrero, now Chris Benoit, someone get a security detail on Dean Malenko and Perry Saturn ASAP. Those guys might be next.

(I'm not the only WWE fan on the thread am I ?)

|6.29.07 @ 3:59PM|#

You and me, Tom.

|6.29.07 @ 5:31PM|#

WWE is pretty cool when you're 9-15. After that, its pretty sad, IMHO.

There's a book called Slaphappy that analyzed the phenomenon of pro wrestling. It says something about our culture. What, I'm not sure.

It seems to attract a higher proportion of whackos then even show business.

SIV|6.29.07 @ 8:05PM|#

"(I'm not the only WWE fan on the thread am I ?)"

Watched it ever since WCW went under. TNA is better if you like the old school and southern style wrestling.

Steven|6.30.07 @ 2:21AM|#

Anyone who has done work on Wikipedia know that faking the deaths of people is a fairly common form of Wiki vandalism.


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