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.
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What’s a conflict of interest (COI)?
The Wikimedia Terms of Use “prohibit engaging in deceptive activities, including misrepresentation of affiliation, impersonation, and fraud. As part of these obligations, you must disclose your employer, client, and affiliation with respect to any contribution for which you receive, or expect to receive, compensation.”
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What’s full disclosure?
Wikipedia provides several methods to disclose a contributor has a conflict of interest, including disclosure on a user profile. None of these affect the presentation of the article itself. When our editors provide a COI disclosure, they also affirm at length that they are aware of and will abide by all Wikipedia policies, as well as its core mission produce a neutral, reliably sourced encyclopedia. We also provide the real-life name and credentials of our contributors so reviewers will know they have great expertise as writers and researchers.
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