Wikimedia Foundation Annual Plan/2025-2026/Global Trends/Common global standards for NPOV policies

Continuing from a scene-setting Diff post published on March 27, this page provides up-to-date information on the working group (proposed in the post) and creates a space for community input and other resources.

Since 2022, the Wikimedia Foundation has worked to identify and be mindful of the global trends that affect the Foundation and Wikimedia movement. In response to these trends (outlined below), we are convening a working group of active editors, Trustees, researchers, and advisors to explore recommendations for common standards for neutral point of view (NPOV) policies that can protect Wikipedia, increase the integrity of the projects, and support the volunteers trusted to administer these policies.

Global trends

This year, one trend that has generated significant conversation within and beyond the Wikimedia movement relates to neutrality: how trust in information online is declining and a fragmentation of consensus about what information is true. Some believe that the world has become more complex, and people are more divided than ever. As threats to neutrality appear to be on the rise globally, Wikipedia’s neutral point of view (NPOV) is needed now more than ever. This core principle has served Wikipedia extremely well, and has become even stronger over nearly a quarter century of volunteer contributions.

While Wikipedia projects share the fundamental NPOV principle, the specific implementation of NPOV policies vary across the Wikipedia projects, which we view as an opportunity for communities to learn from each other; and to explore whether common global standards for neutrality can better protect the projects (and volunteers) in an environment of expanded threats and growing regulation.

Like all policies, NPOV has been refined over Wikipedia's 24 years with thousands of inputs across hundreds of languages. Throughout this evolutionary process of community discussion, the neutral point of view principle and its application remains fundamental to the Wikipedia model.

NPOV policies

A cursory review of these policies across different language versions of Wikipedia at a recent community workshop revealed variations, inconsistencies, and many opportunities for the different Wikimedia projects to learn from each other. Users with extended rights, those trusted by their communities with administering NPOV policies, described the challenges they face when these policies are unclear or underdeveloped in some languages.

The volunteers who sustain the Wikimedia projects constantly adapt and improve their processes as digital and media platforms around the world struggle with bias and disinformation. Stronger community-led content moderation policies that are enforced primarily by local communities protect Wikipedia and Wikipedians alike.

Working group

To support Wikipedia's essential self-governance mechanisms, the Wikimedia Foundation will convene a working group of active editors, Trustees, researchers, and advisors to build on the careful consideration that developed NPOV policies over the past two decades. This will incorporate feedback from work already underway to establish policies and that reflects values shared by the global Wikimedia community.

The working group will ask how more common standards for NPOV policies between Wikipedia projects can protect Wikipedia, increase the integrity of the projects, and equip the volunteers trusted to administer these policies with more support. An initial set of recommendations, focused first on Wikipedia language editions, will be presented to the Wikimedia Foundation's Board of Trustees at the upcoming June 2025 meeting, alongside approval of the Foundation's plan and budget.

The working group represents the Wikimedia Foundation Board leadership, the Community Founder, an experienced editor, steward, and will be supported by researchers.

• Community Founder: Jimmy Wales (UK/USA, English Wikipedia) - Chair
• Board Chair: Nat Tymkiv (Ukraine, Ukrainian Wikipedia)
• Board Chair-Elect: Lorenzo Losa (Italy, Italian Wikipedia)
• Experienced Editor: Risker (Canada, English Wikipedia)
• Steward: Alberto Leoncio (Brazil, Steward)

Participants of this group joined an Annual Planning Community Workshop where this topic was initially discussed and scoped. The working group will be supported by Wikimedia Foundation staff, led by CEO Maryana Iskander and General Counsel Stephen LaPorte, and where needed additional researchers and subject matter experts.

Scope, timeline and how Wikimedians can help

The working group will develop four workstreams related to NPOV principles, inviting community contributions on these topics within and beyond the Wikimedia movement, on the talk page here or as part of the Foundation’s annual planning conversations.

• Aggregation and initial analysis of existing NPOV policies across Wikimedia projects. This will involve significant work across languages and projects, with the goal of having a first draft for review/feedback by August.
• A collection of Insights based on research and analyses of how selected contentious topics are covered outside of Wikipedia, and on Wikipedia across several languages. This workstream will use the NPOV research and insights to develop guidance for researchers examining Wikipedia, and will produce a publication to inform continued NPOV discussions and iteration with volunteers and project communities.
• A collection of suggestions for how users with extended rights can be supported in administering their trusted roles of interpreting and implementing NPOV policies. This workstream will focus on facilitating information sharing across volunteer users and projects, including for a session at Wikimania.
• Reflections on NPOV from Community Founder Jimmy Wales 25 years later, offering perspectives on what the world needs from Wikipedia’s principles of neutrality now and for the next 25 years.

Wikimedians can help us with these efforts by adding to the ongoing collection of existing NPOV policies and updating this Wikidata item. Ideas are also welcomed on how best to support users with extended rights through this talk page.

An initial set of recommendations will be presented to the Wikimedia Foundation’s Board of Trustees at their June 2025 meeting, alongside approval of the Foundation’s plan and budget. Given that this is an initial scope of work, some work products will be further developed by Wikimania, when the Foundation board meets again, and some work will need to continue beyond Wikimania.

Research contributions

Please share on the talk page research, comparisons and other work around NPOV principles and policies that we can learn from for this work.

Community and other resources

Please share on the talk page examples of NPOV policies from different Wikimedia projects so we can map what already exists.

Thank you for your help!

The world’s reliance on Wikipedia continues to grow – from AI chatbots to search engines to voice assistants to content reusers across the internet. At a time when Wikimedia projects are used (and needed!) more than ever, we as Wikimedians must reinforce our core principles and sustain our shared values. Strengthening Wikipedia’s neutrality will make it even more trusted to deliver the content that billions of people rely on around the world.

Contributions are welcomed by all who care about these topics within and beyond the Wikimedia movement. A list of the ways to participate in Wikimedia Foundation annual planning can be found here: we invite your help on-wiki and in other community spaces.