Gail Rubin: what Wikipedia removed
Gail Rubin was an American photographer murdered in the 1978 Coastal Road massacre. Through October 6 2023 the opening called it ‘a 1978 terrorist attack that became known as the Coastal Road massacre.’ Today the opening calls it only ‘a 1978 attack that became known as the Coastal Road massacre,’ though terror survives six times elsewhere in the article. A reader today learns she was killed by PLO members in an attack and not that Wikipedia’s own opening once called that attack terrorist.
The word “terror” appeared 1 times in this article’s opening at its peak, in 2020. Today the opening carries none; the body carries 6. Checked against the full current article on 2026-08-01.
The tracked words, snapshot by snapshot
Section titled “The tracked words, snapshot by snapshot”| word | 2020 | 6 October 2023 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| terror | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| massacre | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Counts are of the opening paragraph only, the part most readers, search engines and AI training sets ever quote.
What was taken out
Section titled “What was taken out”- The word terrorist describing the 1978 attack that killed her is gone from the opening, though it survives elsewhere in the body.
How it opened then, and now
Section titled “How it opened then, and now”2020 (revision 938930699):
Gail Rubin (April 12, 1938 – March 11, 1978) was an American freelance photographer. During her career, she worked as both a war photographer and a nature photographer . She was killed by Palestinians in a 1978 terrorist attack that became known as the Coastal Road massacre . ^ “Israelis at Funerals for Gail Rubin” . The New York Times . March 18, 1978. p. 26 . Retrieved November 30, 2018 .
2025 (revision 1292809529):
American photographer For the cultural anthropologist and feminist scholar, see Gayle Rubin . Gail Rubin (April 12, 1938 – March 11, 1978) was an American freelance photographer. During her career, she worked as both a war photographer and a nature photographer . She was murdered by Palestinian Liberation Organisation members in a 1978 attack that became known as the Coastal Road massacre . ^ “Israelis at Funerals for Gail Rubin” . The New York Times . March 18, 1978. p. 26 . Retrieved November 30, 2018 .
Related
Section titled “Related”- The drift report: what changed across all 61,944 watched articles
- The case file for this article, with every snapshot and every marked removal
- Who made the cuts: removals grouped by the account that made them
- The live article on Wikipedia
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