Ask a Wiki Expert #5: Can I Delete Something I Don't Like From My Wikipedia Page?
Note: this blog post is a companion to the video series “Ask A Wiki Expert”. Watch the video here.
Hello, and welcome to Ask a Wiki Expert, I am William Beutler, and I will be your wiki expert today. In this series, I answer a frequently asked question about Wikipedia from a business perspective, because that is what my firm, Beutler Ink, does every day.
Today's question is: can I delete something I don't like from my Wikipedia page?
Absolutely not! But then again…
OK. Well, let's start with the short answer. Which is: NO!!! Wikipedia is supposed to be an accurate representation of the subject matter, it does not exist to do your PR for you, and if there's something bad on your page, maybe you shouldn't have done something bad.
So that's the general cautionary note. But I am here also to say that, yes, sometimes, depending on the circumstances, it can be done.
If it’s false or there’s no evidence, maybe
The first and simplest way is if you can prove that the thing is false, and this is most likely to be the case if you're dealing with simple vandalism or a bad faith critic who doesn't have a real case. If it's wrong, show it's wrong, and an editor will probably remove it for you.
The second way this can happen is if there is no reliable third-party verification of the information. Maybe it's true, maybe it's not. If you can demonstrate that there aren't any sources—usually a Google search will be enough to prove the point—and if there's no reason to think there will be, yeah that probably should be removed. After all, Wikipedia depends on its sources, and it's not on you to prove a negative.
In some circumstances, if it’s true but irrelevant
The third way this can happen is even if it is true, if you can demonstrate that it is not relevant to your overall business. If you work in communications at a major fast food chain, and there was an incident at one store where some teenagers put boogers in the food? And this one is based on a true story, by the way: well, that story probably doesn't have real bearing on the company. If the company handles it swiftly, and it's a one-day story, sure, I think you could persuade editors that it's not a key event in company history.
Anyway, you're welcome for that mental image. :)
And that is my answer to the question, can I delete something I don't like from my Wikipedia page? If you have any follow-up questions, please add them in the comments and they might become the basis of a future video. To see this video in blog form with added resources for your benefit, click the link in comments. Thank you for watching, and I'll see you on the next Ask a Wiki Expert.
