KUALA LUMPUR: Doctored entries of Sarawak Chief Minister Taib Mahmud, his family and businesses on online encyclopedia Wikipedia were allegedly directed by Taib and his Canadian son-in-law via UK-based public relations giant Bell Pottinger.This was revealed following a sting operation by the UK-based Bureau of Investigative Journalism and London-based national daily The Independent.
Among others the operation discovered that Bell Pottinger had secretly altered information of their A-list clients listed in Wikipedia. Among their clients was UK-based Ridgeford Properties, owned by Taib’s daughter Jamilah and Sean Murray.
Wikipedia which released the details of several pseudonyms used by Bell Pottinger to carry out its ‘operation’, also revealed that one of the key users of this service was Taib and Murray.
Using the pseudonym ‘Biggleswick’, Bell Pottinger had altered entries on the profiles of Sarawak state and of Taib, Murray and their companies Ridegford Properties and Ottawa-based Sakto (Canada).
It is learnt that Ridgeford Properties had hired Bell Pottinger earlier this year to make the necessary changes in Wikipedia.
Also doctored, on instructions from Ridgeford Properties, were the entries of Clare Rewcastle Brown, the editor and founder of online investigative blog Sarawak Report and Radio Free Sarawak.
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