Unknown users on the government network were caught red-handed changing Wikipedia entries, ridiculing everyone from Fabrizio Faniello to party leaders Lawrence Gonzi and Alfred Sant, maltastar.com reported last night.

Wikipedia is an on-line encyclopaedia that allows users to add and edit information on the entry’s page. Anyone can change the entry on anything in the encyclopaedia and, thanks to a software programme called WikiScanner, the IP address of the user who changed the entry is revealed.

WikiScanner revealed that the government’s network, MITTS Network, is among the most networks used in Malta to change the entries on Wikipedia and alter abusively the pages of a number of personalities.

While part of these changes were irrelevant and actually made Wikipedia a more accurate encyclopaedia, other users of the government network used it to poke fun and ridicule local personalities using abusive language.

The following are number of entries edited by the government network MITTS:

Agatha Barbara

Before: Agatha Barbara was the first female President...

After: Agatha Barbara was the most masculine President...

Claudette Pace

Before: … after winning the Malta Song for Europe, with the song Desire

After: ... after winning the Malta Song for Europe, with the song Desire ghaz-z***...

Additional input in entry: She appeared naked on a Maltese magazine.

Dom Mintoff

Additional input in entry: In 2005 he was voted Malta’s daintiest and most delicate person ever.

Fabrizio Faniello

Additional input in entry: Mr Faniello is also busy making porno video’s etc.

maltastar.com had to refrain from copying all the edits on Fabrizio Faniello’s Wikipedia entry due to the very abusive language used.

Michael Mifsud

Additional input in entry: Michael Mifsud’s hobbies consist of smoking carob leaves at half time as well as drinking truckloads of absinthe before and after games.

The above-mentioned edits are just a small part of a long list of people whose pages were edited by users. Politicians such as Lawrence Gonzi, Alfred Sant, Maltese MEPs and former politicians had their pages changed numerous times by abusive users.

Maltese IPs were also used to change other topics, from insulting popular cartoon brand Bratz to obscene bullying of teachers on the San Andrea School and St Aloysius College page.