What Is a COI Edit Request?
A COI edit request is a proposal, posted on an article's talk page by someone with a conflict of interest, asking an independent Wikipedia volunteer to review and make a specific change.
Wikipedia says COI editing “involves contributing to Wikipedia articles about yourself, family, friends, clients, employers, or your financial and other relationships”. The guideline adds “Do not edit Wikipedia in your own interests, or in the interests of your external relationships” (WP:COI). A company article about your employer is a clear case. The edit request is the route the guideline recommends. For getting an article created in the first place, see how to request a Wikipedia article about your company.
How to Fix a Wrong Fact on Wikipedia at a Glance
| Step | Action | Expected result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Read the current article and its history | The exact sentence and its citation identified |
| 2 | Check your conflict of interest and disclose it | A user page statement |
| 3 | Find a reliable, independent source | A citable source that supports the correct fact |
| 4 | Choose the route: request or minor fix | A decision recorded |
| 5 | Post the edit request on the talk page | A request in the review queue |
| 6 | Respond to reviewers and wait | The change made, modified or declined with reasons |
| 7 | Escalate through the right forum if stuck | A second route tried |
Time: 30 to 60 minutes to prepare; the review time is set by volunteers and is not guaranteed (our estimate for preparation). Tools: a Wikipedia account, the article's talk page, a source. Cost: none. Skill level: intermediate.
What You Need Before Starting
- A personal Wikipedia account. The COI guideline says not to create a shared or organisational account or use a company name as the username.
- The exact text of the wrong statement and the correct wording.
- A published source independent of your company; see Wikipedia's perennial sources for how it rates sources.
- A note of whether anyone is paying you or your agency to make the edit.
- The article's Talk tab, and patience.
Step 1: Read the Current Article, Its Citation and Its History
Open the article, find the statement, and check what source it cites. Many errors come from an outdated or misread citation, and knowing that changes your request.
Process: note the sentence, the footnote, and the date the text was added in the page history. Decide whether the text is wrong, outdated or merely unflattering. Wikipedia works from published sources: unflattering but sourced material is rarely removed. Expected result: a precise description such as “the sentence in the History section gives 2009; the cited source says 2011”. Common mistake: asking to remove a fact that is correct but unwelcome.
Step 2: Check Your Conflict of Interest and Disclose It
If you work for, are paid by or are otherwise connected to the company, you have a COI and should disclose it on your user page and in your request.
The guideline says COI editors “should disclose your COI when involved with affected articles” (WP:COI). For paid work, disclosure is a Wikimedia Foundation Terms of Use requirement: “employer, client, and affiliation” on the user page, the talk page or in edit summaries (WP:PAID). Agencies need to disclose both the agency and the client. Expected result: a visible statement. Common mistake: editing first and disclosing after being asked.
Step 3: Find a Reliable, Independent Source for the Correct Fact
Find a published source that states the correct fact. Verifiability is the test: people must be able to check the claim against a reliable source (WP:V).
Good candidates are news coverage, regulatory filings or books from independent publishers; see Wikipedia:Reliable sources for the definition. The COI guideline says to be cautious about content based on “primary sources such as a company website or press release”, so a page on your own site carries little weight for contested claims. If no independent source exists yet, say so; a request without one is weak. Expected result: one or two citable URLs or references. Common mistake: citing a press release as proof.
Step 4: Decide Between a Request and a Direct Fix
For nearly everything, use a request. The guideline lists narrow edits a COI editor may make: removing spam and unambiguous vandalism, fixing spelling, grammatical or markup errors, repairing broken links, removing their own COI edits, and adding independent reliable sources when another editor has asked for them, with a pointer to extra caution for financial COI (WP:COIADVICE).
The guideline also notes an exception for articles that contain defamation or a serious error that needs to be corrected quickly: make the edit, then follow up with an email to Wikipedia's volunteer response team or ask for help on the article's talk page. That wording is written for articles about individuals; for a company, a plain request is the safer reading. If anyone objects to an edit, it is no longer uncontroversial. Expected result: a recorded choice. Common mistake: calling an inconvenient fact vandalism.
Step 5: Post the Edit Request on the Talk Page
Use the Edit Request Wizard if you are new, or add the template yourself. The guide for COI requests recommends the wizard for new users.
Manual process (Simple COI edit request guide): open the article, click Talk, start a New section titled “Edit request”, put {{edit COI}} on the first line of the comment, describe the change below it, sign with four tildes, preview and publish. Our example wording: “Please change ‘founded in 2009’ to ‘founded in 2011’ in the History section. Source: [citation]. I work for the company.” Make one change per request, keep it neutral, cite sources and write in your own words. See also Wikipedia:Edit requests. Expected result: your request appears in a review queue. Common mistake: asking for several unrelated changes at once.
Step 6: Respond to Reviewers and Wait
Check the talk page for replies, answer questions politely and supply sources if asked. Reviewers are volunteers and may decline.
If a reviewer asks for more detail, re-add the template as the COI request guide instructs. Do not make legal threats (the guide says accounts that do are blocked immediately) and do not edit-war. If the answer is no, the reason is usually a source or neutrality issue; fix that and ask again, or accept the result. Expected result: the change made, adjusted or declined with reasons. Common mistake: re-posting the same request without new evidence.
Number of pages in each edit-request category, read October 10, 2026
Source: English Wikipedia, category member counts for the edit-request categories, via the MediaWiki API (prop=categoryinfo).
A page enters a category while it carries an unanswered request template, and one talk page can hold more than one request. Counts change daily; this is a single reading, not a measure of how long requests wait.
Step 7: Escalate Through the Right Forum if Nothing Happens
If a talk page has few active editors, the COI guideline says to ask on the talk page of a related WikiProject or at the COI noticeboard.
The COI guideline also points to the Teahouse for questions. Ask neutrally, link your request and disclose your connection. Our advice: escalate no more than once, and not for disagreement on tone. The edit requests page says it can take from a day to several months for a request to be acted on, especially COI requests, and asks requesters not to post reminders (Wikipedia:Edit requests). For a problem that sits in a news article rather than Wikipedia, use the correction route at the publication, so the source Wikipedia cites is itself correct. Expected result: a second pair of independent eyes. Common mistake: asking for help in a way that looks like canvassing.
How to Verify It Worked
- Request closed: a reviewer has answered on the talk page, and the template shows the request as answered.
- Article changed: the page history shows the edit, and the live article states the correct fact with a citation.
- Edit summary: volunteers adding text for a COI editor are expected to attribute it in the edit summary, so look for a note of the request.
- Downstream: search and AI answers may take time to reflect the change; see checking what AI says about your company.
How to Choose Your Route
| Situation | Recommended method | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Wrong date, name or figure with a source | {{edit COI}} request on the talk page | The recommended route for COI editors |
| Typo or broken link | Direct fix, noted on the talk page (paid editors: request instead, our advice) | Listed as uncontroversial, with a caveat for financial COI |
| Promotional or negative claim with a source | Talk page discussion first | Sourced material is not removed on request alone |
| Error comes from a news article | Correct the news article, then request an update | Wikipedia summarises published sources |
| Possible defamation | Seek legal advice; use the Wikipedia volunteer response team | The guideline treats it as urgent |
| Company is paying an agency | Agency discloses and uses a request | Paid disclosure is required |
Common Problems and Fixes
| Problem | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| No reply for weeks | Low-traffic talk page or review backlog | Do not post reminders; ask at a related WikiProject talk page or the COI noticeboard |
| Request declined: no independent source | Only self-published evidence | Obtain independent coverage, then request again |
| Edit reverted | Direct COI edit challenged | Stop editing; move to the talk page |
| Told request is promotional | Wording is positive or vague | Rewrite neutral, specific, one change |
| Error persists after a correction | Cited source still wrong | Fix the source, or request a different citation |
What Not to Do
- Do not edit the article as your company and call it a correction. Consequence: reversion and possible block. Correction: request on the talk page.
- Do not hide payment. Consequence: a Terms of Use breach. Correction: disclose employer, client and affiliation.
- Do not use a shared company account. Consequence: it violates the guideline. Correction: personal account.
- Do not make legal threats on Wikipedia. Consequence: an immediate block. Correction: take legal advice off-site.
- Do not use AI to write the request. Consequence: the COI request guide tells you not to. Correction: write it yourself.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I edit my own company's Wikipedia article?
Wikipedia strongly discourages it. The conflict of interest guideline says you may propose changes on talk pages with the edit COI template, and may make only narrow uncontroversial edits such as fixing spelling or broken links.
Do I have to disclose that I work for the company?
Yes, for paid work. The Wikimedia Foundation Terms of Use require paid editors to disclose employer, client and affiliation. The COI guideline also says editors with a conflict should disclose it when involved with affected articles.
What counts as a reliable source for a correction?
A published source with editorial oversight that is independent of your company, such as news coverage or filings. Wikipedia's reliable sources guideline defines the standard. Your own website is self-published and usually weak for contested facts.
How long does a Wikipedia edit request take?
There is no set time. Wikipedia's edit requests page says it can take anywhere from a day to several months, especially for COI requests, and that a COI request with no response after six months should be treated as declined. We did not measure review times.
Can I remove a negative but accurate statement?
Not by request alone. Wikipedia summarises published reliable sources, and sourced material stays unless it breaks a policy. You can ask for context or a better source, which a reviewer may or may not accept.
Can a PR agency make the edit on our behalf?
An agency must disclose itself and the client, and as a paid editor it is subject to the COI guideline, so it should use the request route too. Agencies must also follow the paid-contribution rules about linking to accounts where they advertise paid editing.
Sources and Methodology
This guide is built from English Wikipedia policy and help pages, read on October 9, 2026. Wikipedia pages are edited continuously, and essays such as the simple COI edit request guide are advice, not policy. We did not post an edit request for this guide and did not measure review times. English Wikipedia only; other language editions have their own rules. Nothing here is legal advice.
- reference English Wikipedia, Wikipedia:Conflict of interest. Read October 9, 2026.
- reference English Wikipedia, Wikipedia:Simple conflict of interest edit request (essay; page last edited September 15, 2026). Read October 9, 2026.
- reference English Wikipedia, Wikipedia:Edit requests (information page). Read October 9, 2026.
- reference English Wikipedia, Wikipedia:Paid-contribution disclosure, including the Wikimedia Foundation Terms of Use disclosure requirement. Read October 9, 2026.
- reference English Wikipedia, Wikipedia:Verifiability and Wikipedia:Reliable sources. Read October 9, 2026.
- reference English Wikipedia, Category:Wikipedia conflict of interest edit requests and the other edit-request categories, member counts via the MediaWiki API. Read October 10, 2026.