Being asked to sanitise Wikipedia entries

Longtime Wikipedia editor Ruben Schade describes getting paid and unpaid requests to scrub contentious material from articles—and draws a hard line against editing for hire or removing valid citations.

Being asked to sanitise Wikipedia entries

Thursday 01 October 2026

I’m a Wikipedia editor, and have been since 2004. It’s fun! I don’t do it often enough. My niche is jazz and transit articles, though I spend as much time fixing templates, formatting, categories, and page formatting.

Recently I’ve been getting email and DMs from a few people asking if I can help them or their clients “fix” Wikipedia articles. These invariably involve scrubbing references to contentious topics, actions, and/or positions. It’s telling how nobody ever pings me asking for someone’s good deeds to be added.

I want to be crystal clear here: I do not accept such requests. I do not remove text with valid citations. I do not remove references you don’t like. And I do not edit Wikipedia for compensation, financial or otherwise.

I’m not an admin, but I’m an extended confirmed user, pending change reviewer, and have autopatrol rights. These were earned from years of edits made in good faith to advance the cause of the project I care about. I refuse to jeopardise that trust placed in me, or compromise the integrity of the site.

If you or your client are concerned about bad things being listed, maybe work towards doing good things instead that can be cited after. Everyone loves a redemption arc.

Tagged: internet feedback wikipedia