Wikipedia FAQ

Who writes and edits Wikipedia?

Thousands of volunteers from around the world. Many of them are drawn to Wikipedia because they want to contribute articles on a few specific subjects. E.g. character actors from silent films or British naval history. As they become more involved and expert at Wikipedia’s policies, some choose to begin editing and reviewing articles on a wider range of subjects, just to help the project. It’s unlikely (though possible), for example, that the person reviewing content pre-publication will have extensive expertise in business, technology or finance.

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.”

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.

What’s the official position of the PR industry?

Most of the largest PR firms in the world met extensively with Wikipedia in 2014 after allegations of widespread editing without any COI disclosure. The firms subsequently issued a joint statement pledging to abide by official Wikipedia policies from then on. More than two dozen PR firms have signed on to the statement. The statement includes the following pledges:

Why are black hat practitioners cheaper?

“Black hat” editors all publicly claim to abide by Wikipedia policies but unless they fully disclose they are paid editors with a conflict of interest, they are violating one of Wikipedia’s most important policies and risk getting banned and having their content removed. Why do they do it anyway?

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.

What should I do about content I don’t like that’s appearing on an entry about my company or me?

In severe cases of false information, including potential libel, we can often get the content removed within a couple of hours. In all other cases, you can’t make the edit yourself, even if there’s a factual mistake. Instead, you have to request another editor makes the edit, explaining your reasons in detail and disclosing your COI. At WhiteHatWiki, we know how to best engage with editors to facilitate these types of reviews. If you try to do it and don’t know how or what to say, you can end up waiting forever or not giving the proper policy justifications for the change.

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 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 we have a company Wikipedia account that we share?

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

What’s the difference between paid editing and paid advocacy?

Paid editing is receiving compensation to help with an article but also abiding by all Wikipedia policies, such as full disclosure and writing from a neutral point of view. Paid advocacy is inserting subjective commentary, akin to using an article strictly for marketing, PR or an agenda. It’s prohibited and might also be illegal in the United States under FTC rules.

What if I want an entry in more than one language?

We can work in English, French and Spanish and many other languages. There are more than 270 language editions of Wikipedia, each with their own specific policies and guidelines, and their own cadre of volunteers.

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.

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.

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.

What happens if there’s an ongoing disagreement about whether content should appear on an entry?

The first step, during a declared COI proposal for a revision, is always to engage in a civil conversation with the editor with whom there is a disagreement. Sometimes these discussions can involve many more words than the length of the article or content in dispute. If you try to take a short cut and add back (or remove) the content directly, you might end up in a ping-pong war. This will count against you if the article ends up in an administrative review. It can also get you banned.

Will an article about my company look different to readers if it’s been disclosed that the author has a conflict of interest?

No. The article looks exactly the same. An experienced Wikipedia user might check the Talk page of the article where the COI should be disclosed or check the user profile of the author/editors, where COI should also be disclosed. If the article has been handled correctly, there will also be a record that it and/or any changes have been reviewed by an experienced editor, who has approved of the content as abiding by all Wikipedia policies despite the COI.

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.

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