Wikipedia scrubs JD Vance’s military honors, sparking bias controversy
-Reuters
Wikipedia has become the centre of a political controversy after edits to U.S. Senator J.D. Vance’s page removed several of his military awards, sparking a debate between Democrats and Republicans.
The edits, made by a user named “Cortador” between 28th and 30th July 2024, stripped references to Vance’s Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, and Navy and Marine Corps Sea Service Deployment Ribbon.
J.D. Vance, a U.S. Senator from Ohio and Donald Trump’s running mate in the 2024 United States presidential election, served four years in the Marine Corps and was deployed to Iraq as part of the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing. The medals removed from his Wikipedia page were standard recognitions for service during the Iraq War.
🚨 Wikipedia has SHAMELESSLY scrubbed @JDVance’s military awards from the website after it was revealed Tim Walz Stole Valor
Wikipedia has been hijacked by the WOKE LEFT.
Don’t trust them. pic.twitter.com/t6nRh7KLhZ— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) August 12, 2024
“Cortador,” the user responsible for the edits, justified the changes by stating that the article’s body lacked verification for the removed medals, citing Wikipedia’s guidelines on sourcing. This user has previously been involved in controversial edits to pages of high-profile figures like Boris Johnson and Ginni Thomas, leading to temporary suspensions.
The incident has raised concerns about Wikipedia’s reliability, with Vance’s supporters accusing the edits of being politically motivated. Critics, however, argue that stringent sourcing rules are essential to the platform’s credibility, even if they sometimes result in the removal of accurate information.