Palin Deemed Unworthy of Wikipedia's "Blood Libel." (For Now, at Least.)
BY Nancy Scola | Wednesday, January 12 2011
Sarah Palin, you might have heard, made a video in response to the response of the Tucson shootings. Posted via Vimeo on Facebook, it sent many of us scrambling to Wikipedia to figure out what "blood libel" might mean. There we got a lesson in not only Sarah Palin's ability to cast the world in her reflection, but in how the 10-years-old-this-week Wikipedia can push back against the whims of day-to-day politics.
Palin's video kicked off a spirited though measured discussion on the open-source encyclopedia's back channel over whether a Sarah Palin utterance really warranted inclusion on the official entry of an idea with roots going back nearly a thousand year that sayeth Wikipedia, implies "a false accusation or claim that religious minorities, in European contexts almost always Jews, murder children to use their blood in certain aspects of their religious rituals and holidays."
Palin's use was added, and debate ensued. This being Wikipedia, the whole thing was documented and public. "Going by notability, there's no question it belongs on the list," said one contributor. Another disagreed: "Palin's use of the term is just wrong. Not sure the article needs a section on 'misuses.'" Another objected to the idea that all things must be filtered through Palin: "We also don't amend the Africa article just to note that Palin allegedly believed it was a single country." The Palin reference was added, dropped, added, and the cycle continued.
In the end, "blood libel" ended up Palin-free -- though not completely by consensus: Jclemens, a senior editor on the site (and more on what that title means here) locked it down from further edits with the note indicating that it was only temporary. "Expect this will die down within a week."
A similarly intriguing debate happened behind the scenes on Sarah Palin's Wikipedia page. Should Palin's semi-locked page contain a reference to the Tucson shootings, given the frequent media mentions of how Palin's team posted an election map showing the shooting victim Rep. Gabrielle Giffords district under what appeared to be gunsights? Or was the link a media creation. In the end, no mention of the Arizona violence has made it to Palin's page.
Not yet, at least. But these things are fluid. Check back in a bit.