How do I edit my Wikipedia page?
When there’s an error or other problem with your Wikipedia article, the natural impulse is to want to fix it—right away.
The good news is that your brand’s Wikipedia article can be edited.
The bad news is that there are a lot of rules about who can edit it and how to do so.
Understanding Wikipedia’s guidelines on this subject is important so that you avoid wasting time (your own) and goodwill (from Wikipedia editors).
Here are the key points to understand:
You can seek updates to your organization’s Wikipedia article yourself, but you should NOT directly edit the page.
If you can’t make a change directly, what can you do? Should you try to get a friend or vendor to make the update? Or should you make a Wikipedia account and try to say you’re not related to the organization? In short: No. These options will likely lead to a warning tag on the page and potentially being blocked from the site.
Don’t ask someone else to make the edit. Don’t pretend to be unaffiliated with the organization. (We’ve even seen people try to use a VPN to block their IP address. Spoiler: Wikipedia blocks VPN accounts, so trying to use one will be counterproductive.)
There is a process for organizations to fix issues on Wikipedia articles. It involves using the site’s “Talk” pages to make requests, which Wikipedia volunteer editors review and make the edits if they’re appropriate.
You should set up a Wikipedia user account that is just for you to use as a representative of your organization. You should disclose your affiliation with the organization. Use Wikipedia’s Talk pages to suggest content changes and additions.
This process can be slower, but ultimately avoids the backlash that will come from making edits directly. Trying to find loopholes or ways around this process is likely to cause more problems down the line.
We often hear from brand reps who have tried to make edits themselves, only to see those updates quickly reverted. Or, in some cases, these reps may have sought someone else to make the edits, only to encounter the same reversion problem. If you’re having your own Wikipedia problems, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.