Wikipedia:Don't be a WikiBigot

Bigots are people who have prejudice against people and treat them with hatred or intolerance on the basis of people's ethnicity, race or other characteristic (pictured is a neo-Nazi skinhead).

WikiBigotry is an extreme form of bias towards a particular kind, type, or category of article, content, or user. Regardless of the intention (or lack thereof) or the justification, this concept manifests itself in one of several forms such as the selective application of Wikipedia policies, the stringency of the application (light for articles favored, heavy or by strict "letter of the law" for those not favored), or the veiled objection to an article or particular content based on personal bias.

The concept of WikiBigotry is based on bigotry, the state of mind of a bigot: someone who, as a result of their prejudices, treats or views other people with fear, distrust, hatred, contempt, or intolerance on the basis of a person's opinion, ethnicity, race, religion, national origin, sex, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, disability, socioeconomic status, or other characteristics.

Often the bias is sincere with the user genuinely believing in their stance and thus feeling justified by their motive. This ultimately leads to content or entire articles that is/are biased and that give the desired viewpoint an unbalanced amount of attention.

The Wikipedia project strives for a neutral point of view in its coverage of subjects, but it is inhibited by systemic bias that discriminates against underrepresented cultures and topics, or, ignorance of or the lack of a basic factual understanding. The systemic bias is created by the shared social and cultural characteristics of most editors, and it results in an imbalanced coverage of subjects, or their systematic elimination on Wikipedia which is a form of censorship.

Be careful linking other editors to this essay as direct accusations of bigotry can be interpreted as hostile, even when justified. An unfounded or speculative accusation of WikiBigotry is aspersion-casting and could be considered a WP:Personal attack.


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