A reader emailed me today to say that Wikipedia says I'm a socialist. Believe it or not (and most won't), I haven't checked my Wikipedia page in a few years. I've learned that it's better for my sanity not to read everything written online about me. Mercifully, my reader was wrong and I'm not described as a socialist (although I'm sure it's only a matter of time). But the entry could have been written by Michelangelo Signorile and Leon Wieseltier in a bad mood. I guess I can't complain. Your critics always have more energy than your fans, and my general rule is to leave well alone.
But there are several factual errors, e.g. that I endorsed Bush in 2004, which I famously didn't, or that I accepted sponsorship from Phrma for my blog, when I actually didn't. Reading the thing, there's plenty of accurate stuff but a great deal of unsourced inaccuracy and some bizarre assertions. What to do, if anything? Is it kosher to sign up and edit it yourself to correct the errors and add new facts? Or would that just be asking for an online troll war?