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BULLPEN BRIEF: Wikipedia & Digital Reputation Management

Recently, The Daily Beast reported that Congressman Mike Lawler (R-NY) was temporarily banned from Wikipedia for improperly editing content on his own page. Although the edits he made were factual, it’s a valuable lesson on the risks presented by Wikipedia and the challenge of digital reputation management today.

The report found that Lawler, using his own username, made some 26 edits to his own Wikipedia page in recent years. The problem was not with the content of his edits, but rather the fact that he was self-editing, which Wikipedia considers a conflict of interest and policy violation:

Lawler continued to edit his page after receiving a warning, resulting in Wikipedia banning his account. Shortly after the publication of the Daily Beast piece, Wikipedia lifted the ban on Lawler’s account.

Earlier this year, BSG launched a new Digital Reputation Management practice to help clients manage their brands and issues across the Internet, including help with managing their presence on Wikipedia.

Wikipedia isn’t like other web publishing platforms. Operated by a vibrant community of volunteer editors – collectively known as Wikipedians – Wikipedia has a novel and specific set of policies, guidelines, and standards that all users must follow, or else potentially lose access to their accounts. At BSG, all work done in this area conforms to these Wikipedia guidelines.

BSG’s team has deep expertise on these platforms and understands how to effectively manage digital reputation for a range of clients – businesses, high-profile individuals, issues, and more. BSG focuses on providing comprehensive, data-driven solutions to a range of challenges facing clients in online positioning. Contact us to learn more about these offerings.

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