Picture the timing. Your submission was declined last week, or your article was deleted. Then a polite stranger writes in, offering to fix it. All they need is a deposit.
Wikipedia knows this pattern well enough to keep a whole page warning about it. We've pulled the red flags from that page, walked through one case where they all showed up at once, and listed what a properly disclosed paid editor has to do.
What is a Wikipedia page creation scam?
A Wikipedia page creation scam is someone selling you a published, approved, protected or restored Wikipedia article, often with a guarantee thrown in. Wikipedia's own scam warning is blunt about it. Nobody can guarantee what happens on Wikipedia, and help from real volunteers is always free.
Real paid editors do exist. They have to disclose their employer, client and affiliation on Wikipedia, and they have to send you a link to their Wikipedia user page. So watch for a guarantee, a hidden account, or a push to move the chat to WhatsApp. See one? Stop replying and forward it to paid-en-wp@wikipedia.org.
1. Did they find you right after a decline or deletion?
Timing is the tell. Scammers go looking for people who are anxious about an article, and the scam warning spells out where they look: declined drafts, recently deleted articles, and people writing about themselves or about subjects they're connected to.
UC Berkeley's Information Security Office warned faculty about exactly this setup in March 2026. The emails usually came from Gmail addresses and offered help with a "professional Wikipedia page." First came praise for the recipient's research and career. Then a detailed plan. Then the ask, a wire transfer or a PayPal payment.
Before you write back, ask for the sender's Wikipedia user page and their paid editing disclosure. Then go look at both yourself.
2. Do they guarantee approval, speed, or permanence?
"Guaranteed approval." "Live in 7 days." We'd stop reading at either line.
Here's why. Articles for Creation drafts wait in a queue for experienced volunteer reviewers, and there's no set wait. The queue doesn't run strictly first come, first served, either. A reviewer can also decline a draft that falls short on notability or sourcing. Wikipedia's conflict of interest guideline says paid editors cannot guarantee any outcome, and the scam warning goes further, calling such guarantees lies. Curious what the queue looks like day to day? Our guide to what to expect from Articles for Creation covers it.
3. Are they charging to "protect" a page or stop a deletion?
Then there's the protection racket. It's a close cousin of the guarantee: a monthly fee to keep your article up, or a lump sum to make a deletion nomination go away.
The conflict of interest guideline doesn't hedge here. "Offers to guarantee that a page will be saved from deletion, in return for significant sums of money, are always fraudulent, as are offers to use special privileges on Wikipedia." Page protection does exist. Under Wikipedia's protection policy, it limits editing to prevent vandalism, edit warring or other disruption. Nobody sells it.
4. Do they claim to be an administrator, Foundation staff, or a "senior editor"?
Scammers borrow authority. Some claim to be administrators, Wikimedia Foundation staff or other influential people, according to the scam warning. Others just say they can pull strings with editors.
None of it holds up. Paid editors aren't employed by the Foundation or the community, and they have no more authority than any other volunteer. Administrators who make paid edits may not use their special privileges for that work. So picture an "admin" offering to approve your submission for a fee. Either they're lying about the title or they're offering to break policy. We'd walk away from both.
5. Are they pushing the conversation to WhatsApp, Discord or the phone?
Legitimate paid work leaves a public trail on Wikipedia. A scammer wants the opposite. The scam warning names LinkedIn, WhatsApp, WeChat, Discord, email and the telephone among the places they'll push you toward, so experienced editors can't see what's going on and warn you.
Email on its own is fine. What should worry you is a seller who won't tie it to a visible Wikipedia account.
6. Do they promise confidentiality?
"Nobody will know we worked on it." It sounds like discretion. On Wikipedia, it's a policy breach.
Paid editors must disclose their employer, client and affiliation under the paid-contribution disclosure policy, which states that there is no confidentiality for any of them. Signing a non-disclosure agreement doesn't change that. A firm selling secrecy is selling you an undisclosed paid editing problem. Our post on paid editing disclosure and conflict of interest shows how disclosure works in practice.
7. Will they name the Wikipedia account doing the work?
Ask for the account. A legitimate paid editor has to hand it over: Wikipedia policy requires paid editors to give each client and potential client a link to the user page of every Wikipedia account they use, including in direct communication such as email.
The conflict of interest guideline adds a quick test. If someone says experienced editors work for them, get the usernames and check those user pages for a paid-contribution disclosure. Nothing there? The guideline says a missing disclosure likely means the claim is false.
Talk of "our established accounts" is another warning sign. Using several accounts to dodge scrutiny is sockpuppetry. The scam warning notes that edits by sockpuppet accounts can be reverted without discussion.
8. Are they asking for your Wikipedia password?
"Just give us your login and we'll handle it."
Don't. The scam warning tells you never to share your Wikipedia account password, and to change it immediately if you already did. Paid editing has to come from the paid editor's own registered account, carrying their disclosure. An agency working through your account is hiding who's doing the editing.
9. Do they want payment by wire or PayPal before anything is explained?
Last, watch the money. A "limited slot." A discount that expires tonight. Payment by wire transfer or PayPal up front, with no written scope of work.
A real engagement looks different. You'd get a written assessment of whether independent sources exist, a scope, a named account, and terms for what happens if the submission is declined. If a seller jumps straight to the invoice, we'd walk away.
What happened in the Orangemoody case?
Orangemoody is the case where these flags showed up together. It's named after the first sockpuppet account editors found.
On 31 August 2015, volunteer editors on English Wikipedia announced they had blocked 381 accounts for undisclosed paid advocacy. They'd also deleted 210 articles those accounts had created. According to the Wikimedia Foundation, most of those articles were about businesses, business people or artists. The BBC reported that the accounts were believed to be run by one coordinated group.
The playbook will sound familiar by now. The accounts searched for rejected drafts and deleted articles. Some posed as administrators. And the group asked businesses to pay to publish and protect their pages.
The BBC spoke to the general manager of a holiday company in Berkhamsted, England. He'd tried to create a page. Then an email came from someone claiming to be from Wikipedia. He was asked for $400 and paid by PayPal, and the page was deleted anyway.
It still happens. In January 2026, The Guardian reported allegations from the Bureau of Investigative Journalism that the London PR firm Portland Communications outsourced Wikipedia edits through a contractor. The Bureau said it identified 26 accounts making the edits, and volunteers blocked those still active in 2024. A Portland spokesperson told The Guardian: "Portland does not have a relationship with the firm mentioned."
What must a properly disclosed paid editor do?
Paid editing is allowed on English Wikipedia when it's disclosed. Our disclosure and COI guide has the full rules. For spotting a scam, four checks matter. A legitimate paid editor will:
- Edit from a registered account and disclose employer, client and affiliation on the user page, on the article's talk page, or in edit summaries.
- Send you a link to their Wikipedia user page when they contact you directly.
- Put new articles through Articles for Creation and avoid publishing them directly.
- Tell you that neither of you owns the article, and that other editors can revise or delete it at any time.
The conflict of interest guideline goes a step further. Say a solicitation leaves out the basics: that the editor has no special authority, must disclose, owns nothing, can guarantee nothing, and links to a user page. Then it recommends you don't do business with the sender.
How do you report a Wikipedia scam?
Think an offer is fraudulent? Wikipedia's scam warning lays out the steps:
- Stop replying and block the sender. Don't respond at all. That includes telling them you know it's a scam or that you're reporting it.
- Forward the whole conversation, email headers included, to paid-en-wp@wikipedia.org.
- Leave their links and files unopened. Keep a local copy of the messages in case your bank, the police or another authority needs them.
- Shared your Wikipedia password? Change it and consider turning on two-factor authentication. Clicked a link or opened a file? Run a full malware scan.
- Already paid? Consider contacting your local authorities or a consumer protection agency. Wikipedia can't help recover lost money.
What about an account that's editing without a paid disclosure? The disclosure policy points you to the Administrators' Noticeboard (Incidents) or the Conflict of Interest Noticeboard. If private information is involved, use the email address above.
What should you ask any Wikipedia agency, including us?
Here's what we'd ask any firm, ours included. Get the answers in writing.
- Which Wikipedia accounts will work on my article, and can I see their user pages now?
- Where will the paid disclosure appear, and will the talk page carry a connected contributor notice?
- Which independent, reliable sources support notability, and can I see them before any writing starts?
- What happens, and what do I pay, if the submission is declined?
- Will you ever need my Wikipedia password? (The only acceptable answer is no.)
Wondering whether paying for a page makes sense at all? Start with can I pay someone to write my Wikipedia page. Want to test your sourcing first? Our Wikipedia notability checker walks you through the same questions a reviewer would ask.
How does The Wikipedia Studio handle disclosure?
The Wikipedia Studio works as a disclosed paid editor under the Wikimedia Foundation Terms of Use, and we submit with paid-contribution disclosure. We do not promise acceptance: volunteer reviewers make that call, and no agency can make it for them. Every engagement starts with a written source assessment. That way you know where the coverage stands before any writing begins.
Have the coverage, and want a disclosed, source-first route to an article? Here's how our Wikipedia page creation service works.
FAQ
Is it allowed to pay someone to write a Wikipedia page?
Yes, as long as the editor discloses it. The Wikimedia Foundation Terms of Use require anyone paid for a contribution to disclose each employer, client, intended beneficiary and affiliation. English Wikipedia's policy asks for three of those: employer, client and affiliation. Even then, paid editors are strongly discouraged from editing affected articles directly. Skip the disclosure and you're breaking the Terms of Use, which can get accounts blocked.
Can anyone guarantee my Wikipedia page will be approved?
No. Volunteer reviewers decide whether a submission is accepted, and later on any editor can nominate the article for deletion. Wikipedia's scam warning calls such guarantees lies. Its conflict of interest guideline says paid editors cannot guarantee any outcome.
Someone says they are a Wikipedia administrator and can approve my draft. Is that real?
Treat it as a scam. Administrators may not use their special privileges for paid editing. And paid editors have no more authority than any other volunteer. Forward the message to paid-en-wp@wikipedia.org.
How do I check a paid editor's disclosure?
Ask for their Wikipedia username and open the user page. A disclosed paid editor names employer, client and affiliation there, on the article's talk page, or in edit summaries. Then look at the account's public contributions history, which shows what it has edited.
Does Wikipedia charge to create a page?
No. Creating and editing Wikipedia is free, and volunteer help through the Teahouse and the Help Desk costs nothing. Some people do hire a disclosed paid editor for the research and writing. Still, nobody can sell you a place on Wikipedia.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Scam warning. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Scam_warning
- Wikipedia: Paid-contribution disclosure. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Paid-contribution_disclosure
- Wikipedia: Conflict of interest. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Conflict_of_interest
- Wikipedia: Articles for creation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Articles_for_creation
- Wikipedia: Protection policy. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Protection_policy
- Wikimedia Foundation: Terms of Use. https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Policy:Terms_of_Use
- Wikimedia Foundation: Hundreds of "black hat" English Wikipedia accounts blocked following investigation (31 August 2015). https://wikimediafoundation.org/news/2015/08/31/wikipedia-accounts-blocked-paid-advocacy/
- BBC News: Wikipedia blocks hundreds of "scam" sock puppet accounts (2 September 2015). https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-34127466
- Wikipedia: Operation Orangemoody. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Orangemoody
- UC Berkeley Information Security Office: Fake Wikipedia Page Editorial Assistance Scam (23 March 2026). https://security.berkeley.edu/news/fake-wikipedia-page-editorial-assistance-scam
- The Guardian: Prominent PR firm accused of commissioning favourable changes to Wikipedia pages (16 January 2026). https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/jan/16/pr-firm-portland-accused-of-commissioning-favourable-changes-to-wikipedia-pages
