Wikipedia Proposes Tightening Up Editorial Access

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The famous online resource is considering controversial proposals to prevent the propagation of false information.

After years of virtually unlimited access, online encyclopaedia Wikipedia is set to alter the rules so that changes to pages about still-living public figures will require editorial approval.

A two-month trial of the new system, which has already provoked a storm of controversy, is ready to begin in the next “couple of weeks”, a BBC report revealed. Currently Wikipedia’s unique selling point is that, technically, anyone is permitted to make changes to virtually any entry.

Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales first suggested the proposal in January, following a series of well-publicised incidents in which pages were edited to give false or misleading information about public figures.

Under the proposed trial system, the English-language Wikipedia would use a system of “flagged revisions” which would then be examined and approved by a site editor before going live online. Earlier versions of the page would be available to users while the changes were being considered.

Commenting on the proposals, Mike Peel of Wikimedia UK told BBC News: “I’m sure it will spark some controversy,” although he pointed out that 80 per cent of respondents backed the plan in an online poll. “The decision to run this trial was made by the users of the English Wikipedia, rather than being imposed,” he insisted.

Mr Peel argued that, for articles about controversial living figures, “flagged protection will actually make them more open”. He went on to suggest that the trial “may also be extended to organisations which are currently operating”.

The proposals are down for discussion at the annual Wikimania conference later this week, which is being held in the Argentinean capital, Buenos Aires.