Why are Wiki pages deleted?

Two major reasons account for over 90% of all deletions of Wikipedia pages: copyright violations and the lack of notability.

Copyright issues. As Wikipedia publishes its content under a free (“copyleft”) license, Wikipedia writers must create articles from scratch. For example, a Wikipedia writer cannot copy/paste content or use images from other websites. Technically speaking, without going through a series of special procedures, you can’t even republish your own previously-published content—for instance, reuse what’s already in your own blog. Violations in this domain are clear copyright infractions, and Wikipedia administrators have no tolerance for this. Wikipedia policies require that any new pages with copyright violations be deleted immediately.

Lack of Notability. On the other hand, many pages are deleted from the online encyclopedia because they attempt to add a subject the Wikipedia community deems not notable enough. For example, a third grader can create a Wikipedia profile for his classmate, but it will quickly be deleted due to its lack of notability. Because the contributing Wikipedia editor carries the burden of notability proof, a new Wikipedia page about a notable subject cab still be deleted due to lack of notability simply because the Wikipedia writer failed to prove otherwise.

Determining and proving notability can be tricky, so you may need to scrutinize a few Wikipedia policies and understand their practical applications. Pay special attention to Wikipedia policies related to verifiability, as notability and verifiability are closely related. You will also discover that the deletion policies are not applied equally to all subjects. In certain areas where self-promotion may occur—for example, in Wikipedia articles for businesses—you will see more fervent deletions.

If you have trouble determining notability on your own, we can help. At Wenard, we routinely publish some of our content on Wikipedia, so we employ professional researchers with years of experience in notability policies. As part of our fundraising efforts, we offer notability checks for people and organizations. Your contributions help us offset the costs of the databases and libraries that we use. Check notability for a person or for an organization.

More information is available in our guide to creating new Wikipedia pages. If you believe that you’re attempting to make valuable contribution to Wikipedia and are puzzled as to why it’s being rejected, contact us and perhaps we can help.