A Swift Wiki is Swiftly Corrected

I've frequently linked to Wikipedia in this blog, as I find it the best encyclopedia on the Net.... constantly updated, comprehensive, great cross-referencing, and it's owned/updated by its users. (The only downside I've found is that it often runs slowly, probably because it's so popular.)

In the last day, the entry for Swiftboating has been in quite a whirlwind. A few hours ago, Crooks and Liars reported that the entry started thusly:

"Swiftboating is American political jargon for truthful and accurate debunking of John Kerry's exaggerated military experience in Vietnam. The Swift Boat Veterans For Truth organization's ads against Democratic presidential candidate Senator John F. Kerry in the 2004 election campaign revealed the candidate to be untruthful in his representation of his military record. Swiftboating is a new political term for exposing the truth while being under constant attack from those that desperately want to believe the lie. "

As of this writing, just a few hours later, the entry has been reverted to its original content (with the page "temporarily protected from editing to deal with vandalism"):

Swiftboating is American political jargon for the sensationalized portrayal of John Kerry's decorated military experience in Vietnam. The Swift Boat Veterans For Truth organization's ads against Democratic presidential candidate Senator John F. Kerry in the 2004 presidential election campaign alleged that Senator Kerry was being untruthful in his representation of his military record. All available military records support Senator Kerry's accounts of his own service.

What will it look like when you view it now?

Wow!! Regarding Wikipedia "vandalism": A 2002 study by IBM found that most vandalism on the English Wikipedia is reverted within five minutes (see official results).