Presidential Election 2017: How Wikipedia reacted to Ram Nath Kovind being named NDA candidate

When in doubt, Google it.

And when in further doubt, Wikipedia it.

Certainly, it’s not the most accurate source of information, but never let it be said the free online encyclopedia isn’t quick off the mark when it comes to updating its information. In fact, that’s exactly what we noted between 2.12 pm — a few minutes after Bihar governor Ram Nath Kovind was named NDA candidate for the Presidential Election — and 3.07 pm, by which point reactions had begun pouring in.

At 2.12 pm, his Wikipedia page was no more than a perfunctory one. It carried a few lines about his present occupation, a sprinkling of information about his past and a line noting that “On June 19, 2017, BJP president Amit Shah declared him as the consensus candidate for the post of Indian President.” (sic)

A little over 20 minutes later (at 2.33 pm, to be precise), the Wikipedia page had expanded massively. Apart from a detailed CV, there were also what appeared to be sections from a press release detailing various achievements of ‘Shri Ram Nath Kovind’.

And by 3.07 pm, the slicker and streamlined page even had a photograph on it.

Now, if only Indian politics, particularly elections, moved as quickly as Wikipedia updates do.