[WikiEN-l] "Corporate Representatives for Ethical Wikipedia Engagement"

[Fred Bauder]

> Corporate Representatives for Ethical Wikipedia Engagement.Here's the
> Facebook page:
>
> https://www.facebook.com/groups/crewe.group/
>
> I see a pile of Wikimedians engaging with them, which is promising.
>
> I visited WMUK on Tuesday and chatted with Stevie Benton (the new
> media person), Richard Symonds and Daria Cybulska about this topic.
> The approach we could think of that could *work* is pointing out "if
> you're caught with *what other people* think is a COI, your name and
> your client's name are mud." Because in all our experience, even
> sincere PR people seem biologically incapable of understanding COI,
> but will understand generating *bad* PR.
>
>
> - d.

Yes, good point. Newt's communications director, who edited his and
Callista's article did not do much, and did try in good faith to disclose
his interest and follow our guidelines once he became aware of them, but
by then the damage had been done and he was "exposed".

Compared to some of the really nasty PR editing I've seen he did nothing.
Big mainstream media plays a major role. If conflict of interest editing
becomes a story on the evening news there is nothing we or the PR person
can do. They're toast, responsible editing and disclosure or not.

Fred