Wikipedia FAQ

Am I allowed to hire a consultant to write or update an article?

Yes. But only if the consultant abides by all Wikipedia policies, especially full disclosure of Conflicts of Interest (“COI”) on the discussion page for an article. Paid writers or editors who fail to disclose a COI when working on Wikipedia are violating the Wikipedia Terms of Use and potentially federal law prohibiting undisclosed, deceptive commercial promotions. WhiteHatWiki is one of the few consultants who fully disclose paid consulting on the internal “Talk” page of every article they work on.

What are the risks of hiring a black hat practitioner?

Disclosure. Embarrassment. Content being removed (or restored) to articles. Less rigorously sourced material is more vulnerable to rewrites. Less rigorously written articles are more likely to attract the negative attention of editors. Even if not caught in the short term, “black hat” articles generally aren’t as good because of all the corners that are cut. So you’ll end up with a lower quality article.

What’s the difference between a “white hat” and a “black hat” consultant?

WhiteHatWiki is one of the only “white hat” Wikipedia consulting firms. It’s why we’re trusted by some of the best known companies, organizations and individuals in the world. A “white hat” consultant is paid, but still tries their best to abide by all Wikipedia’s complex policies, especially full disclosure of a Conflict of Interest. There are scores of other Wikipedia policies that come into play when doing COI editing.

Can I count on my edits on Wikipedia remaining anonymous?

No. If you don’t register your account, your IP address is visible to the public. If you do register an account and just use it to write about one company or individual, you still may get “outed” and reported by a volunteer. There is a special bulletin board for Wikipedia admins just to review suspected undisclosed COI or “sock puppet” accounts.

Can I just add URLs as my citations?

No. While not an instant disqualifier for an entry, it does look very sloppy and will attract negative attention from reviewers. References are written in a formal academic style that varies by type of source. Often HTML needs to be inserted if the same source is used multiple times. While doing proper formatting is very time consuming, it helps bolster your article immensely when it comes time to review it.

Can I write an entry about my own company or myself?

This is strongly discouraged by Wikipedia. You either have to wait for a volunteer to notice you or, hire a consultant who knows the proper procedures. If you try yourself, you still have to disclose your Conflict of Interest and abide by the Wikipedia mission to produce a neutral, reliably sourced encyclopedia. As a result, many such entries are rejected when reviewed independently in the general “Articles for Creation” queue. Once an article has been rejected, it becomes more difficult for a new article on the same subject to be approved.

Can we have a company Wikipedia account that we share?

No. Wikipedia accounts have to be unique to an individual user.

Can’t I just set up a new account if I get caught in a conflict of interest?

This is called “sock puppeting” and is strictly against Wikipedia policy. It’s also potentially illegal. Wikipedia has tools to block entire IP addresses from posting entries once a user has been found to be consistently violating policy. They also put the previously affected articles under permanent watch.

Do companies or people really get in trouble for not disclosing conflicts of interest or inserting anonymous promotional content on the Internet?

It happen all the time. For example, in 2015 dozens of newspapers reported on anonymous edits originating from inside the New York Police Department HQ. Some of the edits were about extremely controversial subjects involving the police department. When he criticized the practice, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio was “outed” by the New York Post as having done the same thing himself, through his campaign.

Does every fact in an article have to be supported by a source?

Yes. And if it’s a critical fact, preferably more than one source. Unsourced statements are considered “original research” by Wikipedia and are prohibited. The use of too many unsourced statements is a primary cause of entire entries being rejected.

How do I know if the person is really an expert?

Aside from previous experience as a journalist, academic or professional writer, there’s no substitute for having written and edited many articles published on Wikipedia. A consultant should be happy to share their previous articles with you – if they claim they can’t because of confidentiality, then they are a “black hat” practitioner. Their client work on Wikipedia should always be disclosed already or they are in severe violation of core Wikipedia principles. You should also check out the expert’s user profile page to be sure they disclose they are a paid editor. If they don’t disclose, they’re a “black hat” editor. See above for an explanation as to why hiring a “black hat” editor is a bad idea.

How do you work with clients who want a new article on a subject?

Right off the bat, we’ll do a notability review. If we don’t think your subject will qualify as notable, we’ll explain and what has to happen before that might change.

How do you work with clients who want updates to existing articles or the removal of misleading or false information?

The strategy for updates, especially the correction or removal of misleading or false information, can be very complex, even for straightforward requests for updates of out-of-date information. First, we’ll assess whether there is adequate reliable sourcing to support the update. Then we’ll write the updates, with citations, on a document for your review for accuracy. The next step is submitting to an independent editor to review the proposal. The discussion page of the article, for those with an existing interest, is a standard starting place. The official Wikipedia queues for review of proposed edits by COI editors can be turned to in other cases . We also can help manage situations where multi-editor discussions and voting on proposals become necessary — often involving highly technical arguments over obscure Wikipedia policies. e.g. what constitutes a “Coatrack” (extraneous content) in a biography of a living person (“BLP”) In these situations, more experienced editors often can intimidate less experienced Wikipedia editors with technical jargon. Unless you have an experienced Wikipedia editor very familiar with Wikipedia policy working with you, your position might not be properly represented.

How long does it take for a new entry or new content to be reviewed and approved?

Typically, anywhere from a week to two months, although we’ve even seen some turnarounds in one or two days. It depends on how interesting an article is to the volunteer editors. Changes to an existing article can be much faster than the review and approval of a new article.

How much will this cost?

We provide a custom quote depending on the amount of work involved. We are going to be more expensive, in general, than “black hat” consultants because:

I’ve seen articles I consider to have promotional content or unsupported statements. Why is that?

Not every article on Wikipedia is reviewed with the same scrutiny. “Black hat” editors skip the review process altogether – and their articles might not be independently patrolled for some time. Articles on different subjects also have different standards, largely because of the enthusiasm of editors. Articles about entertainers tend to be looser and sometimes much longer than articles about entrepreneurs or companies.

If I don’t qualify as “notable”, what can I do about it?

Quality, independent sources need to write about you or your company or whatever the subject of the article is. These can be mainstream publications or credible trade publications. Once notability is established, the range of sourcing for other facts in the article is somewhat looser.

If I hire you, am I guaranteed results?

No. But for new proposed articles, we’ll only work with you if we genuinely believe you or your organization meets the Wikipedia guidelines for “notability” and will be approved by independent reviewers. We turn down the majority of those who approach us for help, advising them to work on getting better secondary sourcing. We can provide detailed guidance on the type of sourcing which is needed.

Is it illegal to promote yourself on Wikipedia without disclosing you’re involved?

Sometimes, especially when it comes to companies. United States law on undisclosed advertising or promotion can be found here: Endorsement Guidelines. Laws in other countries vary.

What are the advantages of hiring an expert?

Wikipedia’s policies are extremely complex. And just reading the rules is one thing. Actually applying them on real articles, reviewed by editors notorious for rejecting content that doesn’t meet Wikipedia’s standards, is far more difficult.

1 2 Next →