Everyone's a Critic: Manson Family Murderer Tex Watson Doesn't Like His Wikipedia Entry
It's not so weird for a prominent figure to solicit changes to their Wikipedia entry. After all, Wikipedia is the only reference website of its profile, thanks in no small part to its ubiquity in Google searches. For better or worse, what Wikipedia has to say overlaps with, and heavily influences, the public's knowledge on many subjects. But this one is weird, because the subject is convicted murderer and "Manson family" member Charles "Tex" Watson, currently serving a life sentence in California for his part in the 1969 murder of actress Sharon Tate and several others. At this writing, there isn't much information to go on—and there may be none forthcoming (although I will certainly update this post if there is). But here's what's happened so far: last Thursday, a new message was posted to the discussion section of the Tex Watson Wikipedia entry. The post was not by Watson, nor an interested representative, but a member of Wikipedia's Volunteer Response Team.((called OTRS, for reasons not all that important)) This included an embedded 5-page PDF featuring a scanned printout from two versions of the very same Wikipedia entry, with handwritten changes and corrections apparently by none other than Tex Watson himself. A short discussion ensued, with some asking how they could tell for sure if the request came from Watson as claimed. That the PDF came via an official Wikipedia channel was taken as a likely sign of legitimacy, while others pointed out that it should matter less where the questions come from, and more whether any valid points were made. The final comment as of this writing notes that the existing entry lacks citations for many of its claims, so whatever the validity of Watson's apparent requests, this is entry is not among Wikipedia's better ones. For your perusal, here is a link to PDF as hosted on Wikipedia, and below are thumbnails of each page (click on each to read at larger size):
So, what exactly does Tex Watson want? First of all, it's worth noting that Watson seems to have been working primarily from a version of the entry from February 2016 (the first four pages above) so it doesn't quite line up with what we see today. This version he compared to at least the first part of the article in August 2013 (the fifth page) which he liked better. Finally, some edits have occurred on the page since last week—but more about those below. Here are some of his specific requests:
The article to be returned to Charles "Tex" Watson; it was moved to Tex Watson about two years ago following a short discussion.
The nickname "Mad Charlie" removed from the infobox, which he claims is inaccurate.
The restoration of a paragraph in the introduction, deleted in August 2013, mentioning his book about the murders.
Basically a complete rewrite of his "Early life" section, including details about working at an "onion packing plant saving for college" and as a bag handler for Braniff Airlines.((best known to American audiences today as Trey Parker and Matt Stone's production company on South Park))
At one point he wasn't satisfied with the section heading "Cielo Drive murders", but then changed his mind.
Watson asserts that fellow Manson family member Patricia Krenwinkel was the primary killer of victim Abigail Folger, although he says he "assisted", and denies taking $70 from Folger's purse. He also disputes Sharon Tate's last (?) words.
To omit the gender of four children he fathered through conjugal visits with his then-wife.
To delete an entire paragraph related to a citizen signature drive to oppose parole following the commutation of his sentence from death to life. As he notes in the margins, the section is unsupported by citations.
Watson has some kind of issue with the citations included. He actually suggests including the book Helter Skelter, written by the late Vincent Bugliosi, none other than the attorney who successfully prosecuted Charles Manson. He suggests removing a 2009 CNN web story for reasons I can't quite discern.
And what should we make of all this? Well, I'll start by taking the potentially controversial position that everyone deserves fair treatment in their Wikipedia biography, even a convicted murderer. As editors on the Watson talk page noted, a point may be valid regardless of where it comes from. This is a more difficult position to stick with when the details concern, you know, Watson's murder victims. Therefore, determining whether the requests are valid or not may be tricky, but with so much written about the Manson family murders over the past forty-five years, it stands to reason the answers may be found. And it does seem that Watson has done at least a bit of research into how Wikipedia works: he understands there should be citations, and knows he can lobby for the removal of uncited material—although it seems more likely someone will just find a news story about the signature drive than remove this detail. However, the request to remove details about Watson's non-famous offspring is one frequently granted to less heinous public figures, so it will be interesting to see if that happens here as well. Finally, it's worth pointing out... bringing attention to a specific page can work! It worked for novelist Philip Roth, when he published "An Open Letter to Wikipedia" in The New Yorker in 2012, and it works for brands who post on-point, easy-to-understand requests on talk pages.((which, I hasten to add, is something my firm Beutler Ink has done with success for years—although Watson is probably a client we would choose not to take on)) For Watson, it has already resulted in a handful of edits by two different editors. One has added back a mention of Watson's book, although not to the introduction. And, until such time as the issues raised by Watson (and others) are addressed, another has added a helpful advisory for readers to consider:
Update: Lane Rasberry, the volunteer who handled Watson's request, has now written a very thoughtful blog post explaining how he decided to take up the request and exploring some related issues, including whether or not prison inmates should have Wikipedia editing privileges. I highly recommend it. All images via Wikipedia. Five likely also via Charles "Tex" Watson.