Wiki-PR Wikipedia Editing Scandal and Its Consequences

Wiki-PR Wikipedia editing scandal and its consequences are a serious issue that raises questions about the integrity of online information. In 2012, the Wikimedia Foundation, which operates Wikipedia, discovered that a company called Wiki-PR had been editing Wikipedia articles on behalf of its clients.

The company was using paid editors to insert favorable information and remove negative information about its clients, essentially creating fake online profiles. This was a clear violation of Wikipedia's policies and guidelines.

The Wikimedia Foundation took swift action, banning Wiki-PR from editing Wikipedia and removing over 250 articles that had been created or edited by the company.

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Wiki-PR's story is a how-to-guide for violating the Wikimedia Foundation's terms of use, and it's a reminder that undisclosed editing is still rampant on Wikipedia.

In 2015, it was revealed that someone using the NYPD's servers was editing Wikipedia, including changing the article about Eric Garner's killing from saying "Garner raised both his arms in the air" to "Garner flailed his arms about as he spoke."

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The NYPD's attempts to manipulate Wikipedia are abhorrent, especially when it comes to sensitive topics like police killings of unarmed Black men. Editors take a lot of care when writing about these topics, and the NYPD's blatant disregard for this process is shameful.

In 2013, the Wikimedia Foundation banned Wiki-PR, including all of its employees, contractors, and owners, from editing Wikipedia.

In January 2012, a scandal broke out involving Portland Communications, a British PR firm. Tom Watson, a British MP, discovered that the company had been removing the nickname "Wife Beater" from Wikipedia articles about Anheuser-Busch InBev's Stella Artois beer.

Portland Communications didn't deny making the changes, but argued they were done transparently and in accordance with Wikipedia's policies. The company welcomed a subsequent announcement of a collaboration with Wikipedia and even invited Jimmy Wales to speak to their company.

Tom Watson was optimistic about the collaboration, stating that PR professionals need clear guidelines in the online world. This scandal highlights the need for transparency and accountability in Wikipedia editing.

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Source Reliability is a major concern in Wikipedia editing, and it's essential to understand the issues that arise from it. Wiki-PR, a firm that gained infamy for violating the Wikimedia Foundation's (WMF) terms of use, is a prime example of this.

In 2014, the WMF added clear requirements to disclose financial conflicts of interest to their Terms of Use. This change was partly due to Wiki-PR's actions. The firm not only changed article content to favor their clients but also created new articles and used content farms as citations.

Sockpuppetry, or using multiple accounts to create an appearance of several editors, is a significant problem. Wiki-PR's investigation led to 250 user accounts being blocked, and potentially hundreds of entries being removed. Thousands of hours were wasted by Wikipedia editors cleaning up the mess.

This sort of "black hat" editing is still rampant, causing problems for editors who work above-board to improve Wikipedia's content. It also tarnishes the reputation of the brands that hire these firms.

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Editing issues and controversies on Wikipedia are a serious concern. The Wikimedia Foundation's terms of use explicitly prohibit undisclosed editing, and editors are expected to disclose their affiliations and financial conflicts of interest.

The consequences of violating these guidelines can be severe, as seen in the case of Wiki-PR, which led to the blocking of 250 user accounts and the removal of hundreds of entries. This type of "black hat" editing not only wastes the time of volunteer editors but also tarnishes the reputation of the brands that hire them.

The NYPD's attempts to manipulate Wikipedia articles about police brutality and misconduct are another example of the problems caused by undisclosed editing. The editor's anonymity makes it difficult to identify who made the edits, but the blatant disregard for the editing process and insensitivity to the families of the victims is nonetheless shameful.

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Bell Pottinger, a UK-based PR agency, was caught manipulating articles on Wikipedia in 2011. The agency admitted to using multiple accounts to add positive information and remove negative content from articles about their clients.

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In 2011, blogger Tim Ireland, The Independent, and the British Bureau of Investigative Journalism discovered that Bell Pottinger had used up to 19 accounts to edit articles. Ten of these accounts were blocked due to suspicious activity.

Bell Pottinger employees used sock or meatpuppet accounts to create the appearance of support for changes in articles. One account, "Biggleswiki", was particularly notable. The agency's chairman, Timothy Bell, launched an internal review but disagreed with Jimmy Wales's view that the actions were a form of "ethical blindness".

Bell Pottinger's actions were not limited to 2011. In 2016, staff members were reported to have edited Wikipedia articles relating to South African individuals and companies while working for the Gupta family. A Bell Pottinger employee even emailed content to a Gupta account for upload.

The agency was accused of running a social media campaign against South African billionaire Johann Rupert to divert attention away from allegations against the Gupta family. In 2017, Rupert alleged that Bell Pottinger had maliciously altered his Wikipedia page.

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Wikipedia is edited by volunteer contributors, and the conflict-of-interest guideline strongly discourages paid editing.

The paid-contribution-disclosure policy requires editors to disclose their employer, client, and affiliation with respect to any contribution for which they receive compensation.

In 2011, Bell Pottinger was accused of using sockpuppets to edit Wikipedia articles on behalf of its clients, including removing negative information and adding positive content.

Gregory Kohs, founder of MyWikiBiz, offered to write inexpensive Wikipedia entries for businesses, which was seen as antithetical to the mission of the encyclopedia.

Wikipedia editors assess how notable an article is, and if clients are not notable enough, it's best to avoid creating an article that would likely be deleted.

The Chartered Institute of Public Relations recommends that PR practitioners avoid removing negative content about their clients from Wikipedia articles if it's tied to a reliable, published source.

Wiki-PR was involved in undisclosed editing, sockpuppetry, and whitewashing, leading to hundreds of user accounts being blocked and thousands of hours wasted by Wikipedia editors.

The Wikimedia Foundation added clear requirements to disclose financial conflicts of interest to their Terms of Use in 2014, partly due to the Wiki-PR controversy.

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Burger King ran an ad in 2017 that triggered smart speakers to read the Wikipedia article about the Whopper, adding promotional text to the article.

The ad initially worked as planned, but after a few hours, it stopped triggering Alexa due to a change made by Google.

People began to vandalize the article with lines such as "the worst hamburger product" or adding cyanide to the list of ingredients.

The internet didn't take kindly to Burger King's efforts to market their brand on Wikipedia, highlighting the challenges of dealing with inaccurate information.

Brands that are successful on Wikipedia follow the rules and show they're there to help improve the encyclopedia.

Burger King re-released the ad with a new voiceover to get around the block, but the incident offers valuable insight into the importance of working with the Wikipedia community to update articles accurately.

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In October 2013, Wiki-PR, including all of its employees, contractors, and owners, were banned from editing Wikipedia.

The Wikimedia Foundation was "exploring its options" in response to Wiki-PR's actions. Sue Gardner, executive director of the Wikimedia Foundation, made this statement.

Wiki-PR was sent a cease-and-desist letter by Wikimedia's law firm, Cooley LLP, on November 19, 2013.

French told The Guardian that Wiki-PR was "working with the Wikimedia Foundation and its counsel to sort this out", but the Wikimedia Foundation rejected any implication that they were negotiating with Wiki-PR.

The Wikimedia Foundation made it clear that if Wiki-PR wanted to continue editing, Wiki-PR must turn to Wikipedia's community.

In June 2014, the Wikimedia Foundation updated its terms of use, forbidding undisclosed paid editing and requiring any paid editors to disclose their affiliation.

The Wikimedia Foundation acknowledged that undisclosed paid advocacy editing is a black hat practice that can threaten the trust of Wikimedia's volunteers and readers.

A number of large PR firms pledged to follow Wikipedia's new and existing guidelines later in 2014.

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