How has Wikipedia's Charles Coughlin article changed?

Wikipedia's first sentence called it "roman catholic priest from royal oak". Today it says "canadian-american catholic priest based near detroit". The one-line description Wikipedia serves to search engines and AI systems read "20th-century American Catholic priest, radio commentator". It now reads "Canadian-American Catholic priest (1891–1979)". We saved the article's opening at 6 moments between 2005 and 2025, and every claim links the exact revision.

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How Wikipedia rewrote the Charles Coughlin article

The opening as it read in 2005

Charles Edward Coughlin ( October 25 , 1891 – October 27 , 1979 ) was a Roman Catholic priest from Royal Oak, Michigan , a priest from Shrine of the Little Flower Catholic Church, and one of the first evangelists to preach to a widespread listening audience over the medium of radio during the Great Depression . He began his radio broadcasts in 1926 , broadcasting weekly sermons on a regular program. He was an early supporter of the reforms of Franklin D. Roosevelt , and the author of the phrase "Roosevelt or ruin," which was famous during the early days of the FDR administration. However, Coughlin's theology changed over the course of the 1930s as he preached more and more about "monetary reform" and the influence of "international bankers" and upon the welfare of the United States . Coughlin fought strongly for the nationalization of banks. Roosevelt during the 1932 Presidential election . However, by 1935 , Coughlin had begun to oppose Roosevelt's policies. In that year, he founded the National Union for Social Justice , an organization with a strong following among proponents of nativism and inflation , especially in the Midwest. Coughlin's organization also appealed to Irish Catholics living in the cities. By 1936 , Coughlin had become a bitter critic of the Roosevelt administration. In 1936, Coughlin helped found a short-lived political party, the Union Party , which nominated William Lemke for President. After 1936, Coughlin increasingly expressed support for the fascist policies of Hitler and Mussolini as an antidote to Bolshevism , though this was before World War II began, and his radio broadcasts became overtly anti-Semitic . He also began publication of a newspaper, Social Justice , during this period, in which he printed anti-Semitic accusations such as The Protocols of the Elders of Zion . In 1940 , church authorities ordered Coughlin to stop his radio broadcasts and return to his duties as a parish priest. At its peak, his radio show was phenomenally popular: historians state that his office received 80,000 letters per week from listeners. His listening audience was estimated to be as much as one-third of the nation. The political power of his radio show did not go unnoticed, and Coughlin was often grouped together with other radio speakers under the political umbrella of the "lunatic fringe." His listening audience did have the power to change the sway of elections, and Coughlin is often credited as one of the major demagogues of the 20th century for being able to influence politics through a wide audience, without actually holding a political office himself.¹

This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 16055484.

The opening as it stood in 2010 18 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear

He was one of the first political leaders to use radio to reach a mass audience, as more than forty million tuned to his weekly broadcasts during the 1930s. Early in his career Coughlin was a vocal supporter of Franklin D. Roosevelt and his early New Deal proposals, before later becoming a harsh critic of Roosevelt. It was at this point Coughlin began to use his radio program to issue antisemitic commentary, and later to rationalize some of the policies of Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini . The broadcasts have been called "a variation of the Fascist agenda applied to American culture". His chief topics were political and economic rather than religious, with his slogan being Social Justice , first with, and later against, the New Deal . Many American bishops as well as the Vatican wanted him silenced, and he was eventually silenced by his superiors.

Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 368408900.

The opening as it stood in 2015 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear

Charles Edward Coughlin , commonly known as Father Coughlin , (October 25, 1891 – October 27, 1979) was a controversial Roman Catholic priest based near Detroit at Royal Oak, Michigan 's National Shrine of the Little Flower church. He was one of the first political leaders to use radio to reach a mass audience, as up to thirty million listeners tuned to his weekly broadcasts during the 1930s. He was forced off the air in 1939. Early in his radio career, Coughlin was a vocal supporter of Franklin D. Roosevelt and his New Deal . By 1934 he became a harsh critic of Roosevelt as too friendly to bankers. In 1934 he announced a new political organization called the National Union for Social Justice. He wrote a platform calling for monetary reforms, the nationalization of major industries and railroads, and protection of the rights of labor. The membership ran into the millions, but it was not well-organized at the local level. After hinting at attacks on Jewish bankers, Coughlin began to use his radio program to issue antisemitic commentary, and in the late 1930s to support some of the policies of Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini . The broadcasts have been called "a variation of the Fascist agenda applied to American culture". His chief topics were political and economic rather than religious, with his slogan being " Social Justice ", initially in support of, and later opposing, the New Deal . Many American bishops as well as the Vatican wanted him silenced, but after the outbreak of World War II in Europe in 1939 it was the Roosevelt administration that finally forced the cancellation of his radio program and forbade the dissemination through the mail of his newspaper, Social Justice .

Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 669366612.

The opening as it stood in 2020 4 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear

20th-century American Catholic priest, radio commentator Charles Edward Coughlin ( / ˈ k ɒ ɡ l ɪ n / KOG -lin ; October 25, 1891 – October 27, 1979) was a Canadian-American Roman Catholic priest who was based in the United States near Detroit . He was the founding priest of the National Shrine of the Little Flower church. Commonly known as Father Coughlin , he was one of the first political leaders to use radio to reach a mass audience: during the 1930s, an estimated 30 million listeners tuned to his weekly broadcasts. Initially, Coughlin was a vocal supporter of Franklin D. Roosevelt and his New Deal , but became a harsh critic of Roosevelt, accusing him of being too friendly to bankers. In 1934, he established a political organization called the National Union for Social Justice . Its platform called for monetary reforms, nationalization of major industries and railroads, and protection of labor rights. The membership ran into the millions, but it was not well organized locally. After hinting at attacks on Jewish bankers, Coughlin began to use his radio program to broadcast antisemitic commentary. In the late 1930s, he supported some of the fascist policies of Adolf Hitler , Benito Mussolini , and Emperor Hirohito of Japan. The broadcasts have been described as "a variation of the Fascist agenda applied to American culture". His chief topics were political and economic rather than religious, using the slogan " Social Justice ". After the outbreak of World War II in Europe in 1939, the Roosevelt administration finally forced the cancellation of his radio program and forbade distribution by mail of his newspaper, Social Justice .

Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 963001982.

The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear

American Catholic priest (1891–1979) Charles Edward Coughlin ( / ˈ k ɒ ɡ l ɪ n / KOG -lin ; October 25, 1891 – October 27, 1979), commonly known as Father Coughlin , was a Canadian-American Catholic priest based in the United States near Detroit . He was the founding priest of the National Shrine of the Little Flower . Dubbed " The Radio Priest " and considered a leading demagogue , he was one of the first political leaders to use radio to reach a mass audience. During the 1930s, when the U.S. population was about 120 million, an estimated 30 million listeners tuned to his weekly broadcasts. Coughlin was born in Canada to working-class Irish Catholic parents. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1916, and in 1923 he was assigned to the National Shrine of the Little Flower in Royal Oak, Michigan . Coughlin began broadcasting his sermons during a time of increasing anti-Catholic sentiment across the globe. As his broadcasts became more political, he became increasingly popular. Initially, Coughlin was a vocal supporter of Franklin D. Roosevelt and his New Deal ; he later fell out with Roosevelt, accusing him of being too friendly to bankers. In 1934, he established a political organization called the National Union for Social Justice . Its platform called for monetary reforms, nationalization of major industries and railroads, and protection of labor rights. The membership ran into the millions but was not well organized locally. After making attacks on Jewish bankers, Coughlin began to use his radio program to broadcast antisemitic commentary. In the late 1930s, he supported some of the policies of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy . The broadcasts have been described as "a variation of the Fascist agenda applied to American culture". His chief topics were political and economic rather than religious, using the slogan "Social Justice". After the outbreak of World War II in Europe in 1939, the Roosevelt administration forced the cancellation of his radio program and forbade distribution by mail of his newspaper Social Justice . Coughlin largely vanished from the public arena, working as a parish pastor until retiring in 1966. He died in 1979 at the age of 88.

Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1178961237.

The opening as it stood in 2025 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear

Canadian-American Catholic priest (1891–1979) Charles Edward Coughlin ( / ˈ k ɒ ɡ l ɪ n / KOG -lin ; October 25, 1891 – October 27, 1979), commonly known as Father Coughlin , was a Canadian-American Catholic priest based near Detroit . He was the founding priest of the National Shrine of the Little Flower . Dubbed "The Radio Priest " and considered a leading demagogue , he was one of the first political leaders to use radio to reach a mass audience. During the 1930s, when the U.S. population was about 120 million, an estimated 30 million listeners tuned in to his weekly broadcasts. Coughlin was born in Ontario to working-class Irish Catholic parents. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1916, and in 1923 he was assigned to the National Shrine of the Little Flower in Royal Oak , Michigan. Coughlin began broadcasting his sermons during a time of increasing anti-Catholic sentiment across the globe. As his broadcasts became more political, he became increasingly popular. Initially, Coughlin was a vocal supporter of Franklin D. Roosevelt and his New Deal ; he later fell out with Roosevelt, accusing him of being too friendly to bankers. In 1934, he established a political organization called the National Union for Social Justice . Its platform called for monetary reforms, nationalization of major industries and railroads, and protection of labour rights. The membership ran into the millions but was not well organized locally. After making attacks on Jewish bankers, Coughlin began to use his radio program Golden Hour to broadcast antisemitic commentary. In the late 1930s, he supported some of the policies of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy . The broadcasts have been described as "a variation of the Fascist agenda applied to American culture". His chief topics were political and economic rather than religious, using the slogan "Social Justice". After the outbreak of World War II in Europe in 1939, the National Association of Broadcasters forced the cancellation of Golden Hour. In 1942, the Archdiocese of Detroit forced Coughlin to close his newspaper Social Justice and forbade its distribution by mail. Coughlin vanished from the public arena, working as a parish pastor until retiring in 1966. He died in 1979 at age 88.

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