Notice a glaring error on your company's Wikipedia page and tempted to change it? Be prepared for a lawsuit. Follow these latest guidelines on correcting or adding information so you won't find yourself in trouble with the Wikipedians (yes, this is a real word).

1. The Wikipedia Dilemma
by guest writer:
Jennifer Lawhead
© 2014 Off Madison Ave. All Rights Reserved.

2. The Wikipedia
employed at the company, from editing pages. It is
The Wikipedia Dilemma 01 also against Wikipedia’s regulations to be paid to edit
Dilemma
Wikipedia articles.
How Businesses Can Be
Accurately Represented While
Following Wikipedia Guidelines
This presented a major dilemma for marketers who
felt helpless in managing their company’s image on
one of the world’s largest websites. Over the years,
tension mounted as marketers tried to work around
Wikipedia’s regulations by anonymously editing
or hiring others to edit for them. In late 2013, the
Wikimedia Foundation, which runs Wikipedia, said it
was investigating more than 300 accounts it believed
were fakes set up by people acting for just one PR
agency seeking to remove damaging information
from entries, according to a BBC News report.
In 2014, Wikipedia and marketing agency
representatives from across the country came
together in Washington D.C. to settle this complex
issue, and determine mutual best practices. The
result was that agency representatives agreed to
understand and uphold Wikipedia’s guidelines
whenever possible, and publicly announced this
through a formal statement.
Overview
Wikipedia, a free content Internet encyclopedia that
allows anyone to edit pages, has grown in influence
over the years. Housing 30 million articles in 287
languages, Wikipedia is ranked fifth globally among
all websites in terms of incoming traffic, according
to a New York Times report in 2014. Wikipedia’s
influence is extremely wide reaching, and companies
around the world count on Wikipedia to provide
accurate and helpful information for its 1.2 billion
visitors per month.
However, because anyone can edit or contribute to
any Wikipedia page in real time, articles may contain
inaccuracies, biases or irrelevant information until
another editor finds the errors. These errors are
especially damaging for companies. Oftentimes,
employees of companies or brands that are
inaccurately represented are the first to recognize
discrepancies. However, Wikipedia rules and
regulations prevent someone with a bias, like being

3. The Wikipedia Dilemma 02 Our Perspective
Off Madison Ave recommends clients abide by the
latest best practices established at the 2014 meeting,
which include the following (source: Wikipedia):
1. To seek to better understand the fundamental principles guiding
Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects.
2. To act in accordance with Wikipedia’s policies and guidelines,
particularly those related to “conflict of interest.”
3. To abide by the Wikimedia Foundation’s Terms of Use.
4. To become aware of potential violations of Wikipedia policies by our
respective firms, to investigate the matter and seek corrective action,
as appropriate and consistent with our policies.
5. To take steps to publicize our views and counsel our clients and
peers to conduct themselves accordingly.
While it may be tempting for business owners or
representatives to simply click “Edit” and make
changes to a page, this subjects them to a possible
lawsuit and violates Wikipedia guidelines.
So what should business representatives do if they
find outdated or incorrect information on their page?
The best way for a business to edit its own page, in
accordance with guidelines, is to make suggestions
to the “Talk” portion of a page. This option gives
Wikipedia editors the chance to review changes
and decide whether to implement. There are no
guarantees that changes will be incorporated, and it
can take time to see any changes reflected, but it is
currently the best option for companies to abide by
the latest standards and ensure they aren’t subject to
a lawsuit.
How to Make Edit Suggestions
in the “Talk” Section
Visit the company page on Wikipedia that you wish
to edit. This can be found in a tab at the top of each
page called “Talk:”
From there, suggested edits to the main article on
the company page can be proposed. Once posted,
these suggestions will be a permanent part of the
“Talk” page, available for anyone to read. It also alerts
Wikipedian editors to consider the suggestions to be
more accurate.

4. The Wikipedia Dilemma 03 This practice abides by Wikipedia guidelines:
Start by announcing your role, affiliation or bias as a “Talk” page contributor to
abide by Wikipedia’s conflict of interest guidelines. Be as clear as possible, like
this example:
Once you have stated your affiliation to the page, clearly outline the proposed
changes and the reasons for the suggested edits if possible. It is important to
be as unbiased and factual in the proposed changes as possible to increase
the likelihood of a Wikipedia editor accepting and making the edits. Cite outside
sources, like news articles or research journals, whenever possible to show the

5. validity of proposed edits. Wikipedia also strongly recommends
reviewing and following its Manual of Style to increase the
likelihood of your proposed revisions being accepted.
The following is an example:
Lastly, note that once changes have been submitted, the login
name used to make the changes will stamp at the end of the post,
along with the time and date. Be sure to use your real name to be
compliant with Wikipedia guidelines:
Off Madison Ave recommends a public relations professional
or someone well-versed in a brand’s communications make the
recommended changes in the “Talk” section. Once submitted,
the verbiage will be a permanent part of the page, whether or
not it is incorporated into the article section of a page, so it is
important that submissions are accurate, factual and represent
the company appropriately.
The Wikipedia Dilemma
visit:
www.offmadisonave.com
contact:
info@offmadisonave.com
By:
Jennifer Lawhead
Public Relations
05