An admin for the Serbian Wikipedia who holds “checkuser” privileges on that site, which grants him access to confidential user data, confirmed earlier this year that he has edited for pay, including on the English Wikipedia. Claiming he never misused his data access, the disclosure about his paid editing work has nonetheless sparked an ongoing discussion about the propriety of such users doing paid work on the site.

Discussion has favored the view that paid editing should not be permitted for those holding such confidential access, but debate remains bitterly divided with others suggesting it is acceptable, including admins possessing similar confidential access on Wikipedia and its affiliated sites.

Paid editing is a recurring problem on Wikipedia, often touted as being edited by unpaid volunteers. Under the Wikimedia Foundation’s Terms of Use, which covers Wikipedia and other sites the Foundation owns, paid editing is permitted provided editors disclose their work and clients. Such “white-hat” paid editing is tolerated, but issues have also arisen with firms getting biased content into articles on clients in politics, tech, and media. Even with a system in place to allow open paid editing, undisclosed work by “black-hat” paid editing firms continues with exposure leading to expansive bans. Political figures have also been found to have significant edits made to their pages by paid editors, close associates, and campaign workers.

Editor Zoran Filipović initiated a discussion on the Meta site affiliated with Wikipedia in June. In his opening remarks, he alleged Serbian admin Bojan Cvjetković, who holds numerous advanced privileges on the Serbian-language Wikipedia, ha