On 8/22/06, Erik Moeller <eloquence(a)gmail.com> wrote:
Simple answer: add a clear disclaimer template at the
top of WP:COI
articles, and delete them if they are rejected by the community. This
is much easier if there's a standard process (there's that evil word
again) to follow.
That's the first suggestion that sounds plausible.
"This article has been edited by the company in question or an agent
acting on its behalf. It may not conform to the neutral point of view
policy or may omit important facts."
It would not be unreasonable to ask a PR company simply to disclose
the fact that they've edited the article by stamping it {{pr}} or
something (calling it "conflict of interest" is probably going to put
them off).
To be honest though, I don't see what the big deal. We have zillions
of articles with all kinds of problems all over the place. Since when
is the greatest of our problems a sympathetic article which just
doesn't mention the fact that Foofoocom Industries got sued in 1983
for poisoning its employees?
I suspect also that any damage to our reputation will be confined to
articles about companies. People will quickly learn to take our
articles about companies with a grain of salt - hell, I already do.
They're already one of our weakest areas.
Steve