Report: BBC staff edited Wikipedia

LONDON, Dec. 16 (UPI) -- BBC staff allegedly made more than 7,000 edits to Wikipedia entries they viewed as unfavorable, it was reported Sunday.

Some of the edits included unflattering remarks about rival broadcasters, The Independent reported.

Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia with entries ranging from the banal to the bizarre, is "open-source," meaning anyone can edit them. The sources of an estimated 34 million Wikipedia changes were exposed by software developed by U.S. computer expert Virgil Griffith, The Independent reported.

Griffith determined the CIA, the Vatican, the British Labor Party and BBC staff, among many others, altered Wikipedia pages, sometimes to correct errors but often to edit or remove damaging material.

A spokesman for the BBC said the Internet should be used in a manner consistent with the "BBC's values of accuracy and impartiality."

"At no time should that use bring the BBC into disrepute," he said.