Forums > Social Chat > UK government website hijacked

 Written by: ] DAVID MILIBAND had hoped it would be a brave experiment in policy formation — an interactive website on which voters could make suggestions about the Government’s position on the environment...



A few hours after the site went live, administrators at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) withdrew the page, the suggestions of more than 170 people having proved less than earnest...



...Under a list of things that citizens should do, a reader had added: “Pay a higher proportion of their income to the Government, and see little tangible improvement in their standard of living.”



The complex question of “what tools can be used to deliver the environmental contract?” met with the response: “Spade, Organic Yoghurt Stirrer, Old washing-up liquid bottle, Sticky Back Plastic.”...



Among the edits that were more surrealistic than political, the heading “Who are the parties to the environmental contract?” became “Where is the party for the environmental contract? Can I come? Will there be cake? Hooray!” The attack on the site apparently began after blogs alerted readers to the presence of the document on the Defra site.



By last night the defaced page had been taken down, and the original text... had been restored... the wiki facility had been “locked” for the time being to prevent editing...



The page was an experiment, a Defra spokeswoman said. “It’s unfortunate that these things do happen. This in no way undermines our commitment as a department to dealing with serious issues and using new technology to pioneer an open style of government.”[/quote



Full story here...



Which do you prefer?

Original version

Defaced version

It may stop, but it never ends.