Wikimedia UK and Wikimedia Medicine are creating a joint initiative to help tackle the issues around information about Covid-19 on Wikipedia, and we need your help.
There are three "top-level" articles:
- The pandemic: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019%E2%80%9320_coronavirus_pandemic - The condition: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coronavirus_disease_2019 - The virus: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Severe_acute_respiratory_syndrome_coronavirus_...
as well as over 750 related articles. These related articles are where we want to concentrate our support efforts. Coverage changes very rapidly and there is considerable concern about ensuring that the information provided is factual and accurate, as well as up-to-date.
There are many dedicated editors involved in WikiProject Medicine and the recently created WikiProject COVID-19, but the task of keeping myths, misinformation and poorly-sourced content out of the large number of articles is huge.
We are therefore asking our regular editors in the UK to do what you do best. We need help fact-checking and editing the Covid-19 articles. Whether you feel able to spare fifteen minutes from your regular editing, or bold enough to make it a regular task, every bit helps.
We have a wiki page to coordinate efforts, share resources, and have discussion: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_COVID-19/WMUK-WPMEDF_Joi... So please add it to your watchlist.
One starting point is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:2019%E2%80%9320_coronavirus_pandemic from where you can find something that interests you. Just picking an article, reading its references, and correcting text that needs it would help. As a useful extra step (though hardly compulsory) once you’ve gone over an article it would be useful to add a note in this section: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_COVID-19/WMUK-WPMEDF_Joi...
If anybody needs familiarity with the sourcing standards for medical articles, take a look at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Identifying_reliable_sources_(medici...) - although most of the content will only need to meet the usual standards for sourcing that you're used to.
*Richard Nevell, on behalf of Wikimedia UK*
*Doug Taylor, on behalf of Wikimedia Medicine*