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Wikipedia page falsely claims Jim Jordan a NAMBLA founder after Trump defense

Ohio lawmaker among president’s strongest defenders in impeachment controversy

The Wikipedia page for Rep. Jim Jordan falsely claimed Monday morning that he was a founder of a group that advocates for sexual relationships between men and boys. (Caroline Brehman/CQ Roll Call)
The Wikipedia page for Rep. Jim Jordan falsely claimed Monday morning that he was a founder of a group that advocates for sexual relationships between men and boys. (Caroline Brehman/CQ Roll Call)

Rep. Jim Jordan’s Wikipedia page Monday morning falsely claimed he founded the North American Man Boy Love Association, a group that advocates for sexual relationships between men and young boys.

The Ohio Republican has been one of the most outspoken defenders of President Donald Trump as Democrats launch an impeachment inquiry — and long before that.  The ranking member on the House Oversight and Reform Committee regularly accuses Democrats and employees of the Justice Department of using their office to undermine the president.

The inflammatory edit was online for about an hour. An anonymous user at a House IP address corrected the false statement after CQ Roll Call reached out to Jordan’s office for comment.

Before the edit, the page indicated — correctly — that Jordan founded the House’s conservative Freedom Caucus, which he previously chaired. An anonymous Wikipedia user changed that sentence around 10:32 a.m. Eastern Time.

“Jordan is a founding member of the NAMBLA, which he chairs currently,” the page read for more than an hour Monday morning.

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The anonymous user also changed the page’s first sentence to refer to Jordan as an “unethical American” rather than an “American politician.” Another Wikipedia editor caught that edit quickly and reversed it at about  10:36 a.m.

However, the NAMBLA reference remained until 11:24 a.m., when the user with a House IP address finally reversed it.

“Another editor erroneously changed the Freedom Caucus reference to refer to another group,” a note on the final revision read dryly.

Jordan faced criticism over whether he ignored allegations of sexual abuse by a team doctor when he was a wrestling coach at Ohio State University in the 1980 and 1990s — a charge Jordan has denied. That controversy is reflected on his Wikipedia page.

Jordan’s office did not immediately return a request for comment on the Wikipedia edit.

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