This is an explanatory essay about the Wikipedia:Conflict of Interest page. This page provides additional information about concepts in the page(s) it supplements. This page is not one of Wikipedia's policies or guidelines as it has not been thoroughly vetted by the community. |
On Wikipedia, a conflict of interest (COI) involves contributing to articles and discussions about yourself or your external relationships, including family, friends and clients. Conflict-of-interest editing is strongly discouraged. It risks causing public embarrassment to the individuals and groups being promoted (see Wikipedia is in the real world). "[M]isrepresenting your affiliation with any individual or entity" is a violation of the Wikimedia Foundation's terms of use.[1]
This essay outlines possible issues related to conflicts of interest in medicine-related articles on Wikipedia.