A leading public relations company with close ties to the heart of UK government has been accused of secretly commissioning favourable changes to Wikipedia pages on behalf of its high-profile clients.
The Allegations of 'Wikilaundering'
An investigation by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ) has linked Portland Communications to so-called 'black hat' Wikipedia edits, a practice also known as 'Wikilaundering'. The report alleges that between 2016 and 2024, a network of editors, controlled by an external contractor working for Portland, made numerous undisclosed changes to Wikipedia entries.
According to the findings, Portland outsourced these edits relating to clients which included the state of Qatar. Between 2016 and 2021, many alterations were allegedly executed by a firm named Web3 Consulting, run by a consultant used by Portland for this purpose.
A Pattern of Image Management
The investigation claims the edits were designed to improve the public image of clients by manipulating their Wikipedia presence. In the case of Qatar, references to critical reporting in the lead-up to the 2022 FIFA World Cup were allegedly buried.
Other subtle changes reportedly included relegating negative information beneath descriptions of philanthropic work, and swapping out links to critical news articles with more positive coverage. For another client, an intermediary is alleged to have removed suggestions that a billion-dollar philanthropy project had failed to meet its mission.
Undisclosed paid advocacy on Wikipedia directly violates the terms of use set by The Wikimedia Foundation. The PR industry's own guidelines, written by the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR), condemn such 'dark arts', stating intentional deceit breaches professional codes. Portland is not a member of the CIPR.
Portland's History and Response
Portland Communications was founded in 2001 by Tim Allan, a former adviser to Tony Blair. Allan sold most of his shares in 2012 and left the business in 2019. He is now the Executive Director of Communications in Downing Street for Prime Minister Keir Starmer. There is no suggestion he personally ordered or knew of the Wikipedia changes.
In response to the allegations, a Portland spokesperson stated: "Portland does not have a relationship with the firm mentioned and has a policy of strict adherence to the guidelines on all social media platforms." A current employee added that if anyone had done this in the past, they were foolish, and asserted it does not happen today.
However, the TBIJ report suggests this activity was a deliberate workaround. Former employees indicated that after Portland was found in 2012 to have openly edited the Wikipedia page for Stella Artois (removing the 'wife beater' nickname), the firm began contracting out the edits. One source told reporters: "No one said: 'We should stop doing this'. The question was how we could keep doing it without getting caught."
Seven Portland insiders reportedly named consultant Radek Kotlarek and his company, Web3 Consulting, as the service provider. The TBIJ said it identified a network of 26 accounts linked to this firm making the edits. All accounts in this network still active in 2024 have since been blocked by volunteer Wikipedia editors.
Six former employees involved in work for Qatar said Wikipedia edits were a common request, with subcontractors hired to target pages related to the country's human rights record around World Cup stadium construction.
The rise of AI chatbots and summaries, which often pull data from Wikipedia, has made control over the platform's content increasingly influential for reputation management.
