FACT CHECKERS need to correct copy and if that copy is published in the Wikipedia, a professional fact checker needs to bravely set the record straight. Professional fact checkers edit for the truth. They do not lie for clients. However, fact checkers may run into resistance if Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikipedia, notices the corrections. Wales ranted in PR Week about PR people and Wikipedia. It doesn't matter if a fact checker is employed by a PR agency or if the fact checker is a sole trader. When encountering errors, fact checkers need to edit incorrect entries in Wikipedia when spotted there. Fact checkers often offer traditional media well-written press releases to clarify misconceptions when encountered in the mainstream press.
Simon Collister "would have no qualms about editing entries about clients". Stuart Bruce goes further and says "it is your duty to correct mistakes".
It is not good form to edit your own Wikipedia entries, as the podfather, Adam Curry, discovered last year. The accepted practise is to publish your own biography and to foster links to your online bio. That's an uphill battle for seniors who have polarised parts of the online community, as Dave Winer knows. Wikipedia will continue getting minutes of airtime on podcasts and may even enjoy a few column inches of coverage in Irish newspapers during the general election campaign because there are factual disputes in Wikipedia entries concerning Irish politicians.
David Quainton -- "Wikipedia's Founder Issues Warning to PR Agencies"
Simon Collister -- "Wikipedia's Wales Threatens Ban on PR Agencies"
Stuart Bruce -- "Is it time to set the lawyers on Jimmy Wales and Wikipedia?"
Amanda Chapel -- "Has Public Relations Become Synonymous with Spam?" The view from Strumpette.
