Wikipedia InfographicWikipedia and public relations professionals have a long history. Since at least 2006, Jimmy Wales, co-founder of Wikipedia, has asked public relations professionals to follow the “bright line” rule and make requests for changes to their company or client’s Wikipedia page through “Talk” pages instead of directly editing.

In 2012, I conducted a survey of public relations professionals’ views and experiences with Wikipedia. One of the big findings of this study was that 60% of respondents who were familiar with their company or client’s Wikipedia article indicated it contained factual errors. Unfortunately, many media outlets incorrectly reported this finding as 60% of Wikipedia contained errors. Some questioned what this attention would do to the Wikipedia-public relations relationship.

To identify any changes with Wikipedia and further explore the errors in company articles, I repeated the survey in 2013. This time, 59% of respondents who were familiar with their company or client’s current Wikipedia article indicated it had one or more factual errors. A comparison to the 2012 study found that the response rates when the Talk pages are used improved, but are still too long.

This year’s study also identified that 28% of respondents believed their company or client’s article has had at least one potential reputation-damaging error, and 38% of those stated that an error in a Wikipedia article has damaged their company or client’s reputation. These findings were concerning because while we know Wikipedia has prominence in search engines and is a popular website around the world, this indicates that Wikipedia also has the potential to have huge implications on a company’s reputation. This is exacerbated by the finding that 27% of respondents stated they have seen a potential reputation-damaging error on their company or client’s Wikipedia article that remained unchanged for a year or more.

My advice is to:

  • Keep an eye on your Wikipedia page.
  • Follow CIPR’s Wikipedia Best Practice Guidance and the “bright line” rule. Both indicate that the Talk pages should be used to make changes to your company or client’s articles.
  • Get involved only when necessary (remember that even following the rules can be troublesome, as found with BP using the Talk pages)
  • Don’t get disheartened if responses on the Talk pages take time (in 2013, 51% of survey respondents said it takes days)
  • Continue to pursue the necessary changes by following the CREWE Wikipedia Engagement Flowchart if you don’t get a response using the Talk pages

As with last year’s study, most survey respondents in 2013 with experience making or requesting Wikipedia edits indicated that the ‘bright line’ rule needs to change. However, it appears to be unlikely that changes will be made at Wikipedia. With only 25% of public relations professionals in my survey familiar with the ‘bright line’ rule, and reputations on the line, public relations professionals need to learn how to engage with Wikipedia, so please spread the word.

Heidy Modarelli handles Growth & Marketing for IPR. She has previously written for Entrepreneur, TechCrunch, The Next Web, and VentureBeat.
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