This post has been modified to reflect new information since its original publication.
Wikipedia articles can have a huge impact on the reputations of both individuals and businesses. And it’s no wonder: Wikipedia is the seventh most visited website globally, with an average visit duration of 3+ minutes.
Another reason for Wikipedia’s significance is that its articles tend to rank very well for organic search on Google. The site also spans a deep and wide array of content. At last count, there were over 6.8 million content pages on the English version of Wikipedia and millions more on the more than 300 other language editions of the online encyclopedia.
Unfortunately, this ubiquity doesn’t automatically translate into evenhandedness.
As time goes on, increasing criticism has been focused on the dark side of Wikipedia, from bullying and sexism to vandalism and the perpetuation of incorrect information.
Many ReputationDefender clients have turned to us because of issues that originally started on Wikipedia.
We don’t advise trying to edit your own Wikipedia page directly. However, it is useful to understand how problems arise on Wikipedia.
You can use this knowledge to point Wikipedians toward information that properly reflects your professional life or your business, encouraging them to improve your page organically.
Difficulties around editing Wikipedia
In theory, Wikipedia is an open encyclopedia that can be edited by anyone. In reality, however, there are often significant hurdles to be overcome before edits are accepted.
This can be a source of frustration to anyone who is misrepresented on the site, especially since Wikipedia’s guidelines forbid individuals from editing their pages or those of the companies they work for.
Wikipedia’s notability guidelines can cause problems for individuals or organizations with prominence within a certain niche but not among the general public.
Claims made on Wikipedia require independent verification by third-party sources, so pages about important individuals or organizations who are not often featured in the media may get flagged for removal.
Along a similar vein, some individuals and businesses may find themselves misrepresented by a small sample of public sources that do not do justice to the full breadth of their activities.
Media bias can work its way into Wikipedia pages when sensationalized news stories serve as sources. If there are no counterbalancing perspectives, a prominently ranking Wikipedia page might cast an incorrect light on an individual or business for years on end.
Pranks and vandalism on Wikipedia
Wikipedia is widely, sometimes blindly, trusted by people searching online. However, a few incidents have proven that such trust might not always be wise.
One Reddit user posted the following confession:
(quote)
“I am a trusted Wikipedia editor… About 5 years ago, I edited an article with a falsehood for fun. I wish I could remove it, but it’s been there so long, it’s believed as fact now..”
Since many of Wikipedia’s most specialized and obscure pages receive little editorial scrutiny, such “misleading data” can often go unnoticed for months, years—or in this case—until they are publicly announced.
Vandalism also occasionally causes problems on Wikipedia.
Following Beck’s Album of the Year Grammy win, passionate Beyoncé fans flocked to Wikipedia in protest. Beck’s page was vandalized to include such comments as “Grammy stealer” and “BEYHIVE WILL GET U.”
The Beck page was quickly restored to its original content, as is usually the case for popular pages. But what if your page is vandalized and no one notices but you? It can be difficult to get this kind of vandalism removed, especially if a group of editors is intent on tarnishing your reputation.
Aaron Halfaker, a computer scientist specializing in Wikipedia studies, notes that the “encyclopedia that anyone can edit” is becoming “the encyclopedia that anyone who understands the norms, socializes him or herself, dodges the impersonal wall of semi-automated rejection, and still wants to voluntarily contribute his or her time and energy can edit.”
Best practices for dealing with inaccuracies
Clearly, one could argue Wikipedia falls short of its utopian mandate. But in the vast majority of cases, Wikipedia does do justice to the topics it covers. Still, this can be poor comfort if a page about you or your business is damaging your reputation.
If you do spot an error on your page, it’s best to tread carefully.
Wikipedia recommends addressing these inaccuracies on the article’s talk page—a forum for editors to discuss errors, themes, disputes, and other editing issues—and allow another, objective editor to make the needed corrections.
Here’s a detailed list of the steps you can take to combat false information on Wikipedia:
Step 1: Prepare and understand
- Familiarize yourself with Wikipedia’s policies: Learn about Wikipedia’s core policies like neutrality, verifiability, and no original research.
- Create a transparent user profile: If editing on behalf of an organization, disclose your affiliation on your user page.
Step 2: Research and plan
- Identify reliable sources: Gather credible and verifiable sources to support your edits.
- Plan incremental changes: Prepare to make small, manageable edits rather than large ones.
Step 3: Make the edits
- Edit with reliable sources: Use the gathered sources to correct inaccuracies, ensuring all edits are well-supported.
- Avoid promotional content: Ensure that your edits remain neutral and free from marketing language.
Step 4: Engage with the community
- Use talk pages for discussion: For significant or contentious changes, discuss your proposed edits on the article’s talk page.
- Be civil and assume good faith: Interact politely with other editors, assuming they are acting in good faith.
Step 5: Resolve disputes
- Follow dispute resolution processes: If disagreements occur, use Wikipedia’s dispute resolution methods, such as seeking a third opinion or mediation.
If this doesn’t work, you may need to bolster your case by increasing the number or quality of third-party sources about you or your business.
This is where ReputationDefender comes in: We provide consultation around Wikipedia as part of a holistic reputation management program, and we can help you create an online reputation that maximizes the chance of an accurate portrayal on the encyclopedia.
If you find abnormal content on Wikipedia and are not sure what else might be floating around the internet about you, it might be in your best interest to do a reputation audit with our free reputation report card.
This resource will instantly guide you on how others view you online and help you get started removing the incorrect or personal data showing up about you when your name or business is searched.
Wikipedia is a trademark of Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.