Someone in the US House of Representatives Edited The Legend of Zelda’s Wikipedia Page, Changed Protagonist’s Name to “Zelda”
Posted on December 18 2017 by Rod Lloyd
The Legend of Zelda rarely intersects with the realm of politics. This is a good thing, as our adventures in Hyrule serve as an escape from the often divisive politics of the modern day. But once in a blood moon, the fantastical adventures of Link take an unexpected turn into the political sphere. Earlier today, the Wikipedia article for the original Legend of Zelda game was edited anonymously by someone in the United States House of Representatives, with the name of the title’s elf-boy protagonist changed to “Zelda.”
As documented by congress-edits on Twitter, an automated account that tweets anonymous Wikipedia edits made by IP addresses in the US Congress, an edit was made to The Legend of Zelda‘s page by an IP address in the House of Representatives. In what is most certainly a prank, a sentence in the article’s first paragraph was changed to reflect an age-old misconception:
Set in the fantasy land of Hyrule, the plot centers on a boy named Zelda, the playable protagonist, who aims to collect the eight fragments of the Triforce of Wisdom in order to rescue Princess Zelda from the antagonist, Ganon.
The anonymous editor offered the following edit summary:
Zelda is the boy
Incorrectly identifying the hero as Zelda is a cardinal sin in the Zelda community. This anonymous editor was clearly trying to make a funny. But hey, perhaps he or she had only ever played the NES classic’s Second Quest, which can accessed by using “ZELDA” as the file name. We may never know their true intentions.
Likewise, we may never know who it was that made this edit, whether it be a congressional representative, a clerk, an intern, or someone else. If anything, we can see the occurrence as an oddity, as our favorite game series once again pops up in an unexpected place.
This Wikipedia gaff isn’t the first time the House crossed paths with Zelda. Earlier this year, House Republicans attempted to use The Legend of Zelda as a way to pitch their tax reform plan.
Update: The edit was likely inspired by a running joke on Twitter. Ariel Dumas, writer for Late Night with Stephen Colbert, jokingly referred to Link as Zelda in a recent tweet, leading several fans to correct her. Dumas has since kicked off a campaign to prove that “Zelda is the boy.” I’d say that she has been successful thus far, as her influence is seen even in Congress.
What do you make of this strange, strange incident? Share your thoughts with us in the comments.
Source: congress-edits
Rod Lloyd is the Editor-In-Chief at Zelda Dungeon, overseeing the news and feature content for the site. Rod is considered the veteran of the writing team, having started writing for Zelda Informer in 2014 as a Junior Editor. After ZD and ZI officially merged in 2017, he stepped into the Managing Editor role and has helped steer the ship ever since. He stepped up to lead the writing team as Editor-In-Chief in 2023.
You can reach Rod at: rod.lloyd@zeldadungeon.net
