The Wikipedia page for Sen. Kamala Harris has been placed under “discretionary sanctions” after administrators discovered that the article had been edited over 500 times since early May — mostly by one user.
According to Harris’ “talk” page, where editors could discuss improvements to Wikipedia articles, the page “must adhere to the biographies of living persons (BLP) policy, even if it is not a biography, because it contains material about living persons.”
“Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentially libelous.”
The edits were first noticed by The Intercept, which reported last week on the revision history of the California Democrat’s page and the dispute between editors on the content.
After the updates from the sole user, who goes by Bnguyen1114, another editor wrote on the talk page, “You seem to have gone through a database of press releases from Harris’s office, cataloging every single one and adding it to the article. That is not how we write encyclopedic articles.”
Bnguyen1114 also removed information in Harris’ article that appeared to be critical of her record, specifically content relating to her relationship with former California Assembly Speaker Willie Brown.
Editors on the “talk” page also objected to changes made to sections that covered her time as a prosecutor.
In a June 11 comment, Bnguyen1114 argued that they were “proofreading for length.”
A spokesperson for Harris did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment on the matter.
The edits to Harris’ article come as her name continues to be mentioned as a front-runner in the race to become presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s running mate.
Harris has been reported among the top contenders for the coveted vice presidential slot, alongside Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, former national security adviser Susan Rice, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and Rep. Val Demings of Florida.
Harris, Warren and Rice all passed the initial round of scrutiny by Biden’s VP search committee within recent weeks and were recently asked to turn over documents like financial disclosures and past writings.
In 2016, the Wikipedia page for Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) was heavily edited in the weeks leading up to him being tapped as Hillary Clinton’s vice presidential running mate, according to The Atlantic.
Similarly, the Washington Post reports that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s Wikipedia article was heavily edited in the hours prior to being named as running mate for Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) in 2008.
With Post wires