Well I think we need to find out who the person is. Is he or she new in the community? How well versed is the person with WMF regulations. If it's an experienced editor then it is a clear case of a delineate bad practice and he or she must be warned.

Going forward the press release is not a bad idea but we can also share some of these regulations so that the community will be in know.

On 8 Nov 2016 11:07, "Justice Okai-Allotey" wyzzlewany@gmail.com wrote:

I have this issue with people asking me if they pay for being on Wikipedia, I guess its about time we make noise about it to stop people from falling victim to that.

I would want to volunteer for this matter Sandister.

Kind Regards,

On 8 November 2016 at 10:56, Sandister Tei sandistertei@gmail.com wrote:

I was contacted by a well-known journalist about a message he received from someone who said he created Wikipedia articles for GHC250/$62 each, and could do one for him.

I was told of 2 additional cases all in the space of a week. And these wiki business people even leave their contacts for further negotiations.

I was given advice by a Wikimedia staff on how to go about this as a community. Here it goes:

"1. Expose this person and (gently) shame him for undisclosed (presumbly he does not disclose this?) paid editing, which is against the WMF Terms of Use.

2. Drafting a press release describing that practice and explaining how

articles are written on Wikipedia, about whom, and how no amount of payment could guarantee non-notable people or orgs would be covered, or keep promotional language in or negative facts out."

*Interpreting the above advice, it means that when people do paid-editing, they are to disclose it in the manner stated here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Paid-contribution_disclosure. If not, WMF terms will be breached.*

*Secondly it will be good that we draft the suggested press release and make sure Ghanaians online are aware of the situation.* Additional reading:

Wikipedia:Paid editing (policy) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Paid_editing_(policy)* (Failed proposal)* Wikipedia:Paid-contribution disclosure https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Paid-contribution_disclosure Some People Get Paid a Lot of Money to Edit Wikipedia Pages http://time.com/money/3994949/wikipedia-paid-editors/ Should I pay for a Wikipedia article? https://blog.wikimedia.org/2015/09/21/on-paying-for-wikipedia-articles/

Finally if you have any comments, suggestions, or want to volunteer for anything at at all regarding this matter, please hop on.

Regards,

Sandister Tei Video Journalist | Head of Social Media – Citi FM | Rep – Wikipedian Community (Gh)

*Letters to Marissa https://medium.com/letters-to-marissa | Wikipedian Community (Gh) http://www.wmgh.org/ | Purple People https://www.facebook.com/thatpurplelife/*

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