Social media/Best practices

On Wikimedia Foundation and Wikimedia projects’ branded accounts

Do not endorse any products
Do not endorse any political candidates
Do not engage in any dispute with other accounts
Do not evaluate or attempt to resolve complaints by celebrities or their fans about edits to a Wikimedia project article.
Do not post sarcasm or irony
Do not post “snarky” or unfriendly tones
Do not repost anything that contains any of the above
Do not post media that is not freely licensed under CC, in the public domain, or owned or co-owned by the Wikimedia Foundation. An exception is media used with permission from the author.

Wikimedia Foundation employees on their personal social media accounts

Please refer to the staff's handbook employment guidelines on Office Wiki.

Wikimedia Foundation employees’ social media accounts are their business—unless they are used in ways that inhibit the employees' ability to do their jobs. For instance, fundraisers should not post anything unkind about donors; attorneys should not post anything controversial about ongoing cases; communications team members should not post belligerently about members of the press, etc. You are an ambassador for the Wikimedia movement and Wikimedia projects on social media.

Please do not take on angry critics or engage with members of the press in discussions about the Wikimedia Foundation on social media or the comments sections of websites. You may have the best intentions, but as a Wikimedia Foundation employee, you can be mistaken as speaking for the Foundation. The more urgent the critic or reporter is, the more dangerous the situation can be. Please excuse yourself from the situation and email the Communications department with a link.

Many arguments about politics and other divisive topics are flaring up on social media lately. If you post political opinions on social media, never mention the Foundation or Wikimedia projects. As a 501(c)(3) status nonprofit, we must always remain apolitical as an organization (in our official work, we never support or oppose political candidates). If you post frequently about politics, it may be good to include a small sentence in your bio saying that “These views are mine, not my employers,” or something similar. Please don't post about politics while you are working on a Wikimedia Foundation computer. If you find yourself in a social media confrontation about politics and someone mentions Wikimedia projects or the Foundation, it is probably best to not reply at all. Never answer on behalf of the Foundation, Wikimedia projects, or the movement. Feel free to reach out to the Communications department via talktocomms@wikimedia.org if you have doubts about what is transpiring.

What you do personally on social media is your business, and it is important to feel free to advocate for what you believe. But it may also be good to keep in mind that experts say arguing about politics on social media is extremely stressful. Posting a witty comeback might feel good in the moment, but embroil you in an ongoing, destructive conflict. It’s usually just not worth it.

Please check with your manager and the Communications department before blogging about your work with the Foundation on outside platforms. Personal reflections may be fine, but statements such as “At the Wikimedia Foundation, we...” need to be cleared with the Communications department. We would rather you write with us, and then post with commentary to our verified Medium account. We can help you with engagement and that process to get the most out of your posts.

Contracting companies and agencies working with the Wikimedia Foundation

Please refrain from posting anything on your social media accounts that could appear to be part of your work with the Wikimedia Foundation without consulting with the Wikimedia Foundation first.

Community accounts that use Wikimedia Foundation or Wikimedia projects branding

Community members and Wikimedia Foundation staff are encouraged to check with the social media team before starting a social media account that could confuse the public by appearing official when it is not. A possible source of confusion can be the use of the word “Wikipedia”, other Wikimedia projects, the puzzle globe, or other Wikimedia trademarks in the name or profile picture of the social media account. We encourage the use of the Wikimedia Community Logo as a means of representing the movement on community accounts. Please make clear on the account that it is run by a volunteer, community member, or staffer as an unofficial account. That said, we are an open-information movement, and it is not our mission to seek out trademark violations or misbehavior on social media. We rely on community volunteers to protect the Wikimedia brand identities by reporting trademark misuse. If you see something on social media that you wish to report as abusing our brands, email legal-tm-viowikimedia.org. More information about the use of Wikimedia trademarks on social media is available in the Wikimedia Foundation trademark policy.

While we urge community accounts to use our best practices on not posting products or other topics outside the Wikimedia mission, we do not police or critique community pages. We are happy to give feedback, support, and advice when asked.

Keeping track of accounts

There are pages on Meta-Wiki for listing Facebook pages and microblogging handles run by Wikimedia Foundation, Wikimedia affiliates, and Wikimedia communities.

Before creating a social media account related to a Wikimedia project, please consult with the Communications department first. We are happy to assist you with guidance and tips.