Wikipedia is an online encyclopedia which allows its users to write and edit articles via wiki software, which also allows users to revert each other's edits. Conflicts between editors concerning content within articles may give rise to edit wars, in which a repeated exchange of opposing edits are published on a contested article. Some edit wars have received media and academic coverage.
Wikipedia is a free, collaborative, online encyclopedia which allows its users to write and edit articles via wiki software. The website allows provides a user-friendly interface for both editing on articles and reversing other users' edits.[1] Conflicts over content within articles often arise among editors, which may result in edit wars. An edit war is a persistent exchange of edits representing conflicting views on a contested article,[2] [3] [4] or as defined by the website's policy: "when editors who disagree about the content of a page repeatedly override each other's edits."[5] Edit wars are prohibited on Wikipedia[6] and editors are encouraged to seek consensus through discussion, however administrative intervention may be applied if discussion is unfruitful in resolving the conflict.[7] Generally, edit wars are provoked by the presence of highly controversial content, such as abortion or the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, but can also occur due to other disputed matters, such as the nationality of artist Francis Bacon.
Various edit wars have been received coverage outside the website, and media articles noting several such wars have been published.[8] [9] [10] [11] [12]
| Edition | Start date | End date | Description | Outcome< | -- Outcome does not necessarily indicate the current status of the article in dispute. Rather, it indicates the resolution of the specific aforementioned edit war. --> | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gdańsk | English Wikipedia | Whether to use the German name, Danzig, or the current official name of the Polish city, Gdańsk, was a subject of dispute and edit warring. | A vote was held to determine the choice of name, with 80 editors casting 657 votes in two weeks. A clear majority of votes decided on the Polish-language name on the modern city, while references to the city in the period from 1793 to 1945 would use the German name. | [13] [14] | |||
| Yogurt | English Wikipedia | Editors conflicted over the spelling used in the title of the article, with some promoting the American English yogurt and others the British English spelling yoghurt. | Consensus was established in 2012 to title the article yogurt, and to note variant spellings in the article's lead sentence. | [15] [16] | |||
| Nanjing Massacre | English Wikipedia | A Japanese-language translation label in the article's introducing sentence was repeatedly replaced and rewritten. | A temporary consensus decided on the inclusion of . A second label, Nanjing Incident, was also added. | [17] | |||
| Ganges | English Wikipedia | The name used for the river, whether Ganges (familiar to English speakers in Western countries) or Ganga (familiar to English speakers in India) has been contested. | [18] [19] | ||||
| Star Trek Into Darkness | English Wikipedia | The capitalization of into in Star Trek Into Darkness was a matter of debate as some wished to have it capitalized and others preferred "Star Trek into Darkness." | Consensus was reached that the article be titled Star Trek Into Darkness, with a capitalized into. | [20] [21] [22] | |||
| Gamergate (harassment campaign) | English Wikipedia | Various editors accused the article covering the harassment campaign of having bias towards a feminist viewpoint. | Following a decision by the Arbitration Committee of the English Wikipedia, several editors were banned from editing on articles relating to sex and gender. Although this decision did not end the edit war, the harassment campaign lost momentum during 2015. | [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] | |||
| Garfield (character) | English Wikipedia | The infobox of the cartoon cat Garfield, protagonist of the Garfield comic strip, was changed multiple times to indicate an indeterminate gender, after podcaster Virgil Texas claimed in a tweet that an interview of strip creator Jim Davis indicated so and subsequently updated the infobox to reflect this. | The argument ended in the consensus that Garfield was male, citing four strips. Jim Davis later clarified to The Washington Post that he was indeed male. | [29] [30] | |||
| English Wikipedia | Various editors wished to emphasize criticism of Trump's comments during the 2018 Russia–United States summit. | After a vote "which clarified little," Wikipedia admin Awilley concluded the discussion with the article noting bipartisan criticism of Trump's comments. | [31] | ||||
| History of the Jews in Poland | English Wikipedia | A group of nationalist-aligned editors attempted to exaggerate the phenomenon of Poles returning looted Jewish property in the postwar period. | After two weeks of edit warring, the nationalist group abandoned editing the article, which led to the article being corrected to show a much lower extent of property return than previously described. | [32] | |||
| Once Upon a Time in Hollywood | English Wikipedia | Several editors expressed backlash over the inclusion of movie spoilers in the article's plot summary prior to a more public release. The article was also repeatedly vandalized with erroneous plot summaries. | As public access to the film increased, editors swiftly resolved to include the entire plot. | [33] [34] [35] | |||
| Recession | English Wikipedia | A dispute broke out among Wikipedia editors over the definition of an economic recession given in the article on that subject. Right-wing commentators accused editors on the platform of being influenced by the Biden administration's interpretation of the term, inciting further edit warring. | After the page was placed under protection from edits by new users, a consensus arose to explain the varied definition of the word among scholars and in common usage. | [36] [37] [38] | |||
| 2024 Nuseirat rescue operation | English Wikipedia | An edit war erupted concerning whether an Israeli military raid during the Israel–Hamas war should be titled a "massacre" or a "rescue operation." | [39] [40] | ||||
| English Wikipedia | South African politician Leon Schreiber's article was edited multiple times over his birthplace and nationality. Schreiber was born in South Africa, however several users changed the article to indicate he was born in Zimbabwe. | On July 3, the article was protected from arbitrary editing and his birthplace was stated as South Africa. | [41] [42] |