Wikipedia:Outing (essay)

This is an WP:DOXING policy. It contains the advice or opinions of one or more Wikipedia contributors. This page is not an encyclopedia article, nor is it one of Wikipedia's policies or guidelines, as it has not been thoroughly vetted by the community . Some essays represent widespread norms; others only represent minority viewpoints.

Because of its open nature, Wikipedia is subject to a number of syndromes or problems that can lead to discrediting the project as a whole. Insertion of questionable or false or unverified information is the worst of these. Of all such information, that which accuses people of unpopular status (e.g. being homosexual, religious fundamentalists) or performing or advocating illegal acts, tends to be the worst. The use of such information is entirely out of the control of editors and publishers of Wikipedia, and could if used against the individuals reported on, end the project. For instance, in some countries it is illegal to be homosexual. A report that someone is homosexual on a Wikipedia page could lead to their being harmed or killed. They or their families would then have cause for legal action against Wikipedia's editor Wikimedia Foundation, especially if the claims published were never verified or found to be inaccurate.

Wikipedia discourages outing: the practice of claiming that people are working with, have the same friends as, the same attributes as, or "are" other people with whom they have not openly claimed an association. This practice threatens freedom of association.

Because of a necessarily lax

.

Accidental outing is sloppy, and a sign of poor editorial discipline, and should be quickly corrected.

Old

or Wikipedia mailing list posts, in particular are not a valid or acceptable source of information. Because people using these might believe something at any given point in time, doesn't make it true.

Some people view outing as a revenge move. However, two wrongs do not make a right and the second is no better than the first.

Some questions about the fairness of a deliberate decision to "out" someone:

• has the person whose motives or associations are in question, been contacted directly, as themselves? (not via an account which some believe is a
  Wikipedia:sock puppet
  )
• where is the a trail of evidence?
• how has the evidence been handled?
• who has the power to make the decision whether to report the claims in a Wikipedia article?

"There are cases where someone might, through investigation, seek to uncover the identity of someone in an effort to out them against their will. Such instances raise fewer ethical questions since they do not involve an extension of trust that was later betrayed. Within some communities, though, the right to anonymity is sufficiently entrenched that any community member responsible for such outing would be sanctioned." – User:Louis Kyu Won Ryu

Deliberate outing, generally, is a betrayal of trust, at least where the perp has obtained identity information as a result of an extension of trust. Outing someone based on, for example, the contents of server logs, is a betrayal of trust on the part of the server operator except perhaps if the release of information is consistent with a site's privacy policy (so-called "

with the person they are outing.

Sadly there have been several such cases in the history of Wikipedia, not all of which resulted in any sanction at the time. Over time, however, people responsible for such actions have tended to be forced out of responsible positions in the project. Please do not list their names here, this may attract them back to "protect their reputation" by once again accusing innocent people of various nefarities.