List of Wikipedia controversies

Wikipedia's open-editing model, which allows any user to edit its encyclopedic pages, has led to concerns such as the quality of writing, the amount of vandalism, and the accuracy of information on the project.

The media have covered controversial events and scandals related to Wikipedia and its funding organization, the Wikimedia Foundation (WMF).

The incident dates back to May 2005, with the anonymous posting of a hoax Wikipedia article containing false and negative allegations about John Seigenthaler, a well-known American journalist.

[3][4] The 2012 scandals involving paid consultancy for the government of Gibraltar by Roger Bamkin, a Wikimedia UK board member,[5][6] and potential conflicts of interest have highlighted Wikipedia's vulnerabilities.

[8][9] In 2015, the Orangemoody investigation showed that businesses and minor celebrities had been blackmailed over their Wikipedia articles by a coordinated group of fraudsters, again using hundreds of sockpuppets.

John Seigenthaler , an American journalist, was the subject of a defamatory Wikipedia hoax article in May 2005 . The hoax raised questions about the reliability of Wikipedia and other websites with user-generated content . [ 1 ]
The "rambot spike" in late 2002 into early 2003
Jimmy Wales 's autobiographical edits attracted criticism in December 2005.
The Wikipedia administrator Essjay, whose claims about his identity and credentials were the subject of a New Yorker editorial in 2007
Canadian wrestler Chris Benoit
A 17th-century copy of a 14th-century Persian manuscript image of Muhammad prohibiting Nasi' , one of the depictions of Muhammad which raised objections
Reporter David Rohde in 2011, three years after information about his capture by the Taliban was controversially removed from Wikipedia
Several psychologists strongly objected to displaying images of the 10 Rorschach test inkblots in June 2009.
The observation decks and spire of the Donauturm
In September 2011, controversy arose when British writer and journalist Johann Hari admitted using Wikipedia to attack his opponents by editing the articles about them and inserting fabrications. [ 164 ] [ 165 ]
Historian Timothy Messer-Kruse 's experiences editing the article about Chicago's Haymarket Affair sparked debate over the role of truth, rather than "verifiability", on Wikipedia.
Attempts to delete an article about the wedding dress of Kate Middleton led to a controversy on the English Wikipedia [ 188 ] and the issue received some press coverage. [ 189 ] [ 190 ]
Jimmy Wales's relationship to Tony and Cherie Blair came into question in December 2012 amid discussion of their connections with the Kazakh government .
Writer Amanda Filipacchi wrote an April 2013 op-ed in The New York Times criticizing the Wikipedia category "American Women Novelists".
Andrew Leonard poses in front of a Wikipedia page about him, the creation of which was inspired by his reporting on "revenge editor" Robert Clark Young. [ 236 ]
The controversial monkey selfie
James Heilman's dismissal from the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees exacerbated tensions between the Board and the Wikipedia editing community in December 2015.