Corporate+Wiki+Abuse

One of the biggest issues with using Wikis in the corporate world is the abuse of Wikis by companies in order to gain an edge over a competitor or to portray their own company in a more positive light. There have been [|dozens of documented instances] of companies editing the Wikipedia pages of their competitors and making a change that is negative in nature. This is a complete violation of Wikipedia's standard on [|creating hoaxes].

Some verified instances of Wiki misuse by companies include:
 * [|Microsoft paying someone to write favorable reviews about products on its Wikipedia page.]


 * [|PepsiCo removing negative information about how their product is detrimental to health.]

True, these attempts at hoaxes were sniffed out and changed back, but the false information was still out there for a certain amount of time. This blatant manipulation of the Wiki system is one of the reasons many people will continue to have a hard time trusting Wikis. They never know who is inputting information and how accurate it is at that time.

Sources:

http://andwalkaway.blogspot.com/2007/08/wikis-pros-and-cons.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Do_not_create_hoaxes http://www.pcworld.com/article/128634/should_microsoft_pay_for_wikipedia_edits.html http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/19/technology/19iht-wiki.1.7167084.html