Whitewashing on Wikipedia and the Ethics of Page Editing

Whitewashing. The black-hat method used to correct misinformation on Wikipedia.

The term has a negative aspect when dealing with Wikipedia.

I like to refer to it as navigating the grey area of Wikipedia. After all, you are allowed to clean up misinformation, just not without following Wikipedia’s guidelines on neutral point of view.

This is why it can be tough for some people offering Wikipedia page creation services as they do not properly advise clients on what is acceptable and what is no.

Whitewashing calls into question the ethics of people who edit Wikipedia, particularly those who want to add their personal point of view. After all, Wikipedia is supposed to be neutral and balance both positive and negative aspects of the subject being written about.

Some people don’t like what their Wikipedia page says about them. Others use Wikipedia as a sounding board to push a negative POV. This type of editing has led to a practice known as “whitewashing,” by where people attempt to dispute a Wikipedia article by making it look “cleaner” than the topic really is.

Okay. Let’s get into it.

What is Whitewashing on Wikipedia?

Whitewashing on Wikipedia refers to the act of editing a page with the primary intent of removing negative or controversial information.

This is often done to create a more positive or polished image.

Whitewashing can include deleting entire sections, rephrasing content, or adding positive information that is not necessarily sourced.

The practice becomes even more controversial when it involves paid editing. Many people who get paid to edit Wikipedia do so in favor of their clients. When this happens, there is no longer such as thing as neutrality.

• Note – I will NOT edit Wikipedia just because you want something more positive written about you. Everything you want to include must be reliably sourced and adhere to Wikipedia’s neutral point of view guideline. However, I will consult you on how to go about ethically updating information so you do not end up being accused of whitewashing.

We all know why someone may want to whitewash a Wikipedia page.

1. Wikipedia ranks high in search so anything negative is out there for the whole world to see.
2. Wikipedia uses news sources which, if those source contain negative information, can give them link juice and rank them higher in search.
3. People may feel the Wikipedia article is unfair or not factual.

Regardless of the reasoning, it can be natural to want to clean up a Wikipedia page to something more favorable.

Let’s look at Wikipedia’s overall stance on the subject.

Wikipedia’s Stance on Whitewashing

Wikipedia strives to maintain the neutrality of its content. After all, who would read it if it’s full of misinformation?

While its aim is for articles that fairly represent multiple viewpoints without bias, it isn’t always easy to achieve. So, Wikipedia has established policies and guidelines over the years to help guide users when editing.

It is important to understand these guidelines if you want to know how to dispute a Wikipedia article.

Here are a few that are cited regularly when it comes to whitewashing on Wikipedia:

Neutral Point of View:

Wikipedia editors are required to maintain a neutral tone and provide a balanced representation of all significant viewpoints. The policy on neutral point of view helps guide editors so articles are not skewed towards a specific perspective or agenda.

Verifiability:

Editors must provide reliable sources to support any content they want to add to the site. This policy helps prevent the addition of biased or unverified information. Wikipedia also places the onus of anyone adding information to show why it deserves to be included. This means that just because something is stated in a reliable source does not mean it automatically gets included on Wikipedia.

Conflict of Interest:

I will discuss this more later in the article, but having a conflict of interest can often go against you. Even if you follow the rules related to neutral point of view. The policy behind conflicts of interest aims to minimize biased editing and the potential for whitewashing.

Wikipedia and Bias Editing

Yes, we all have biases.

Wikipedia is no different.

That is why knowing the guidelines in the previous section is important.

Unfortunately, Wikipedia does have a bias (based on the bias of those who edit the site) when it comes to information.

People who edit Wikipedia come from all walks of life and have an opinion that may differ from yours. So naturally people may want to slant a Wikipedia page one way or another.

Wikipedia does have an ideological bias. So, even some editors’ view of “neutral point of view” may not be that neutral.

If an edit is made in opposition to someone’s point of view, it may look like whitewashing to them. This may not always be the case.

So, be prepared for the whitewashing accusation if you want to correct misinformation on Wikipedia that others may see as factual.

Examples of Prior Whitewashing on Wikipedia:

Now, if you are a bad actor going to Wikipedia to perform whitewashing, let me give a slight warning.

If you go there in bad faith and make an editor that is clearly against the site’s neutral point of view guidelines, you will be shamed.

Many people have tried to do this in the past. Hell, I’ll even admit to doing for clients in the infancy of my editing.

Just know that if this happens, you could wind up in the news based on your actions. This is exactly why I never recommend the practice of whitewashing.

Here are some classic examples of people whitewashing Wikipedia over the years.

Bell Pottinger:

In 2011, British public relations firm Bell Pottinger was accused of editing the Wikipedia pages of its clients to remove negative information and promote a more favorable image. The incident led to a heated debate on the ethics of PR firms and the boundaries of ethical editing.

Wiki-PR:

In 2013, a company called Wiki-PR was exposed for having a network of paid editors who manipulated clients’ Wikipedia pages, often violating the platform’s guidelines. I was actually lumped in with this company as I worked on pages for clients who previously used them for services. Thankfully, it was cleared up later on that I was NOT part of their group.

Sunshine Sachs:

A report by The New York Times in 2015 detailed how public relations firm Sunshine Sachs was editing client pages. Edits to pages were noted as being favorable to its clients or in some cases removing negative information. Some may argue that the firm just wanted to correct misinformation on Wikipedia, but few would argue that how they went about doing it was not necessarily ethical by Wikipedia standards.

NBC:

Even news outlets have attempted to whitewash Wikipedia entries. In 2019, NBC was accused of hiring someone to downplay its ties to Matt Lauer, Harvey Weinstein, and Noah Oppenheim. Of course, this didn’t fair well as its competitors got the luxury of reporting the situation.

Gautam Adani and Adani Group:

A more recent example is of Indian billionaire Gautam Adani who was accused of having entries related to his family and family businesses whitewashed. More than 40 accounts were blocked or banned by Wikipedia editors after it was discovered they were adding non-neutral information.

These are just a handful of cases you can find in a Google search.

Paying to Correct Misinformation on Wikipedia

Because of the back and forth between toxic editors and the rest of the Wikipedia community, people have resorted to paying to update their Wikipedia page.

And yes, this is how I got started in digital marketing.

While editing your own page or hiring someone to do so is not explicitly against Wikipedia’s rules, there are guidelines for paid editing you must follow when doing so.

One of the main issues with paid editing is that most who offer the service do not know what they are doing. There are some professional services out there, but most people who try are freelancers with little or no experience.

This can cause problems. Especially because it can hurt any reputation management efforts you have under way.

An inexperienced editor may wind up putting the page in a more negative position.

Here is what I mean.

Let’s say you have a negative item on your Wikipedia page. You pay someone to remove it who doesn’t give you the proper advice. Once removed, editors wind up seeing the edit in the “recent edit” queue.

Red flags to editors.

Someone is going to come along, assume you are whitewashing (whether you are or not), and add the content back. They will then search online to see if there is more negative information.

And yes, they will add it.

You could wind up with a page containing all negative information about you instead of that one item you wanted removed.

So, I always recommend doing your homework to ensure you hire the right Wikipedia consultant. Ask many questions so you feel comfortable they are competent enough to perform the work.

I’d rather advise a client on why an edit cannot (or should not) be made as opposed to putting them in a worse off situation.

Cleaning Up a Wikipedia Page Without Whitewashing:

Some may see paid editing as unethical. I understand their point despite disagreeing with that point of view.

However, I completely understand why someone would want to try other methods in order to correct misinformation on Wikipedia.

There is a way to do it without hiring a professional Wikipedia editor. The process is the same if you hire an ethical professional, but in this case, you would be doing the work yourself.

Here is what you do.

Every article in Wikipedia has a “talk” page. This page is used to discuss information about the article without that discussion actually appearing in the article itself.

As anyone can edit Wikipedia, you are more than welcome to start a discussion on the talk page of any article you wish to correct. First, it is recommend that you create an account as editing without one will expose your IP address which can be tracked to your approximate location.

Once you have created an account, go to the talk page of the article you want to edit. Create a new topic. You need to disclose who you are and the purpose for the discussion.

Simply state who you are and what information you want corrected. You can even add the parameter “{{request edit}}” to the page to notify other editors.

The full process is outlined on Wikipedia’s information page about edit requests.

Conclusion:

Yes, it is possible to correct misinformation on Wikipedia. However, never engage in whitewashing. If you want to know how to dispute a Wikipedia article, follow the site’s edit request information outlined in the previous section.

Remember, Wikipedia does have a bias on certain topics. This doesn’t mean that you cannot correct information. It simply means that you may have a more difficult time in certain areas.

If in doubt, contact me for a free evaluation on the information you want updated. My team and I can consult and advise you through the entire process.