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Why Did NYPD Employees Edit Wikipedia Entries on Sailor Moon and Susan Sarandon?

Today it was revealed that a number of Wikipedia entries were edited by users inside NYPD headquarters, who had opinions on everything from Derek Jeter to Barry Manilow.
Photo via Flickr user Heath Brandon

This morning, Capital New York broke a fascinating story about how Wikipedia articles on police brutality have been edited from inside 1 Police Plaza, the NYPD headquarters in Manhattan. Among the articles changed by users with an NYPD IP address were ones on "Death of Eric Garner" and "Stop-and-frisk." Another page, on the shooting death of Sean Bell in 2006, was recommended for deletion by a presumed cop who claimed, "He was in the news for about two months, and now no one except Al Sharpton cares anymore. The police shoot people every day, and times with a lot more than 50 bullets. This incident is more news than notable."

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Wikipedia has an informal rule against editors having conflicts of interest, though obviously users don't always abide by it. Though it's not clear which individuals were responsible for the edits, the list of changes made to Wikipedia articles from the NYPD IP address compiled by Capital provides insight into how police employees feel about policies, events, and news stories that affect them.

Like everyone else, cops have interests beyond their jobs, and Wikipedia edits made from that IP address concern a wide variety of topics ranging from Alkaline Trio to the Rush song "Xanadu." We decided to look through some of the NYPD's less politically charged contributions to the online encyclopedia to see what's important to New York's Finest.

Fucking with Other Cops:

On September 23, 2012, they tweaked the entry on Four Loko to tease a cop named Phil Anschick:

Four Loko in Phil Anschick - contains 24% [[alcohol by volume]] and 24% less brain cells

The Japanese comic Sailor Moon was also used to tease Anschick that same day:

Sailor moon originated with a wet dream that Phillip Anschick had during a nap in study hall 1997

On August 9, 2012, it was Barry Manilow time:

In August 2012, Manilow and inspiration to millions, met face to face with his biggest FANILOW… Michael Dario of NYC. Dario was quoted as saying, "This is the biggest moment of my life. It's even bigger than my Las Vegas Wedding."

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Politics:

On September 25, 2012, noted left-wing activist Susan Sarandon was in some NYPD employee's crosshairs:

She is also noted for her social and political activism for a variety of [[Modern liberalism in the United States|liberal]] causes. Most of which are all Commie-Pinko, Liberal causes that are for criminals and dictators.

The Classics:

On January 3, 2008, a George Orwell scholar weighed in:

While it is common in Europe today to use a 24-hour clock, it must be kept in mind that at the time the book was written, English readers would refer to that hour as "one", and not "thirteen". In 1949, a clock that struck thirteen would not hvae existed, and so there is am immediate shock of dislocation to the reader presented in the opening line.

On March 28, 2008, someone was reading Dante's Inferno:

Brooklyn South Narcotics of the NYPD is an offshoot of this circle of Hell.

On March 22, 2007, the target was everybody's favorite nude mag:

Today, ''Playboy'' is still Responsible for teenage boys for having their first orgazime.

Race:

This May 13, 2011, tweak to the entry on Today Show host Hoda Kotb speaks for itself:

Who are you to decide someone's ethnicity? If someone's parents were born in Italy, then say their child, who was born in America and only speaks an American dilect Eglish, went to Italy, the people Italy would laugh at him if he claimed that he was Italian. Especially when that person orders a Cappucino after his dinner. Have you never heard of American Cuisine, I'm sure Indian's weren't eating hot dogs and hamburgers before Christopher Colombus showed up. With your logic Indians and the Eskimos can't call themselves American either, they're actually Asian.

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Sports:

On January 25, 2008, recently retired Yankees shortstop and book publishing maven Derek Jeter got some love:

In other news P.O. Rindos would like to thank Derek Jeter for "making the bronx exciting again." This was a gift to the star on his 22nd birthday

And on May 28, 2009, New York's boys in blue paid their respects to hall-of-fame baseball player Ted Williams:

The manliest man this country ever produced.

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