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| | Perhaps one of the extreme examples is the Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM), an unaccredited business school in India. Even though the IIPM was in regulatory problems, an editor(s) Wifione managed to keep the Wikipedia article on IIPM and its President positive while adding negative items to IIPM's competitors. Adding to the problem is that Wifione is a Wikipedia administrator. The Wikipedia Arbitration Committee allowed this to continue for years before taking action.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wikipediocracy.com/2013/12/02/indian-fakers-teach-wiki-pr/|title=Indian Fakers Teach Wiki PR|date=December 2, 2013|accessdate=February 8, 2015|work=Wikipediocracy}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Arbitration/Requests/Case/Wifione|title=Wifione Case|accessdate=February 8, 2015}}</ref> | | Perhaps one of the extreme examples is the Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM), an unaccredited business school in India. Even though the IIPM was in regulatory problems, an editor(s) Wifione managed to keep the Wikipedia article on IIPM and its President positive while adding negative items to IIPM's competitors. Adding to the problem is that Wifione is a Wikipedia administrator. The Wikipedia Arbitration Committee allowed this to continue for years before taking action.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wikipediocracy.com/2013/12/02/indian-fakers-teach-wiki-pr/|title=Indian Fakers Teach Wiki PR|date=December 2, 2013|accessdate=February 8, 2015|work=Wikipediocracy}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Arbitration/Requests/Case/Wifione|title=Wifione Case|accessdate=February 8, 2015}}</ref> |
| | ==Burger King== | | ==Burger King== |
| − | In April 2017, [[Burger King]] devised a television commercial designed to trigger Google's voice-activated Home smart speaker and have the device advertise the Whopper by reading the start of the Wikipedia Whopper article.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_O54le4__I</ref> Google quickly reprogrammed the system to respond only if the user asked for the definition of a "Whopper burger." But before the fix was implemented, Wikipedia editors changed the article to include "horse meat", "cyanide",<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Whopper&oldid=777717747</ref> "rat droppings", "dinosaurs" and other foul ingredients.<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Whopper&oldid=777715629</ref> The project is an example of a company trying to use Wikipedia to lend credibility to a commercial product.<blockquote>It appears that Burger King itself tried to fix the Wikipedia problem. The first sentence changed to a suspiciously glowing description of the Whopper, authored by user “Fermachado123" — a name that sounds similar to Fernando Machado, Burger King's senior vice president for global brand management.<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Whopper&diff=773832878&oldid=773809917</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/companies/burger-king-thought-it-had-a-great-idea-instead-it-ended-up-with-a-whopper-of-a-problem/ar-BBzMU9j?li=BBoPWjQ&ocid=mailsignout|title=Burger King thought it had a great idea. Instead, it ended up with a Whopper of a problem. |date=April 13, 2017|accessdate=May 16, 2017|work=Washington Post}}</ref></blockquote> | + | In April 2017, [[Burger King]] devised a television commercial designed to trigger Google's voice-activated Home smart speaker and have the device advertise the Whopper by reading the start of the Wikipedia Whopper article.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_O54le4__I</ref> Google quickly reprogrammed the system to respond only if the user asked for the definition of a "Whopper burger." But before the fix was implemented, Wikipedia editors changed the article to include "horse meat", "cyanide",<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Whopper&oldid=777717747</ref> "rat droppings", "dinosaurs" and other foul ingredients.<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Whopper&oldid=777715629</ref> The project is an example of a company trying to use Wikipedia to lend credibility to a commercial product.<blockquote>It appears that Burger King itself tried to fix the Wikipedia problem. The first sentence changed to a suspiciously glowing description of the Whopper, authored by user “Fermachado123" — a name that sounds similar to Fernando Machado, Burger King's senior vice president for global brand management.<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Whopper&diff=773832878&oldid=773809917</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/companies/burger-king-thought-it-had-a-great-idea-instead-it-ended-up-with-a-whopper-of-a-problem/ar-BBzMU9j?li=BBoPWjQ&ocid=mailsignout|title=Burger King thought it had a great idea. Instead, it ended up with a Whopper of a problem. |date=April 13, 2017|accessdate=May 16, 2017|work=Washington Post}}</ref></blockquote> |
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| | ==Paralympics== | | ==Paralympics== |
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| | # Wikimedia Foundation (WMF) employee Sarah Stierch advertised her services as a Wikipedia writer for hire on the same freelancer site Wikimedia uses for its own contractors. Wikipedia articles she was alleged to have edited for pay include: the biography of Sally Hogshead,<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sally_Hogshead&oldid=588872113</ref> an author and professional speaker; the article on ''The Leadership Challenge'',<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Leadership_Challenge&oldid=580204865</ref> a book on leadership and professional development; and the biography of Barry Posner, one of the book’s authors.<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Barry_Posner_%28academic%29&oldid=586827885</ref> Critics raised this paid editing on Jimmy Wales' talk page.<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Jimbo_Wales/Archive_153#Paid_editing_by_WMF_employee_on_oDesk</ref> After Wales denied Stierch was a WMF employee, and Fluffernutter jumped to her defense, she was terminated without public explanation by the WMF on January 9.<ref>http://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/wikimedia-l/2014-January/129466.html</ref> | | # Wikimedia Foundation (WMF) employee Sarah Stierch advertised her services as a Wikipedia writer for hire on the same freelancer site Wikimedia uses for its own contractors. Wikipedia articles she was alleged to have edited for pay include: the biography of Sally Hogshead,<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sally_Hogshead&oldid=588872113</ref> an author and professional speaker; the article on ''The Leadership Challenge'',<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Leadership_Challenge&oldid=580204865</ref> a book on leadership and professional development; and the biography of Barry Posner, one of the book’s authors.<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Barry_Posner_%28academic%29&oldid=586827885</ref> Critics raised this paid editing on Jimmy Wales' talk page.<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Jimbo_Wales/Archive_153#Paid_editing_by_WMF_employee_on_oDesk</ref> After Wales denied Stierch was a WMF employee, and Fluffernutter jumped to her defense, she was terminated without public explanation by the WMF on January 9.<ref>http://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/wikimedia-l/2014-January/129466.html</ref> |
| | # Tony Ahn & Co., a digital [[Public Relations]] agency based out of the Philippines, offers to provide Wikipedia pages for its clients. It has also placed clients' articles on the main page of Wikipedia by nominating them for "Did You Know?" entries.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.dailydot.com/business/wikipedia-tony-ahn-pr-did-you-know/|title=Is Wikipedia's front page for sale?|work=Daily Dot|first=Tim |last=Sampson|date=June 7, 2013|accessdate=May 28, 2016}}</ref> | | # Tony Ahn & Co., a digital [[Public Relations]] agency based out of the Philippines, offers to provide Wikipedia pages for its clients. It has also placed clients' articles on the main page of Wikipedia by nominating them for "Did You Know?" entries.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.dailydot.com/business/wikipedia-tony-ahn-pr-did-you-know/|title=Is Wikipedia's front page for sale?|work=Daily Dot|first=Tim |last=Sampson|date=June 7, 2013|accessdate=May 28, 2016}}</ref> |
| − | #Ariadne Capital, a London-based venture capital firm, is suing PR agency Lansons over a "botched attempt to improve a Wikipedia entry in a campaign that did its reputation more harm than good." The PR agency sent an email to Wikipedia about a less-than-flattering article,<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Julie_Meyer&oldid=525008206</ref> and Wikipedia posted its text on-wiki.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/ariadne-cap-2016-3|title=A PR firm is being sued for 'botching up' an investment fund's Wikipedia page|date=March 15, 2016|accessdate=March 20, 2016|work=Business Insider}}</ref><ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Talk:Julie_Meyer&oldid=710780713</ref> | + | #Ariadne Capital, a London-based venture capital firm, is suing PR agency Lansons over a "botched attempt to improve a Wikipedia entry in a campaign that did its reputation more harm than good." The PR agency sent an email to Wikipedia about a less-than-flattering article,<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Julie_Meyer&oldid=525008206</ref> and Wikipedia posted its text on-wiki.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/ariadne-cap-2016-3|title=A PR firm is being sued for 'botching up' an investment fund's Wikipedia page|date=March 15, 2016|accessdate=March 20, 2016|work=Business Insider}}</ref><ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Talk:Julie_Meyer&oldid=710780713</ref> |
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| | ==References== | | ==References== |