Wikipedia:Responding to threats of harm
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 | This page documents an English Wikipedia behavioral guideline. Editors should generally follow it, though exceptions may apply. Substantive edits to this page should reflect consensus. When in doubt, discuss first on this guideline's talk page. |
 | If you feel you may physically harm yourself or others: Click here for a list of support resources |
If you see a threat of physical harm (including self-harm):
- 1. Treat all claims seriously
- Many threats are empty, but leave that evaluation to Wikimedia Foundation staff.
- If you are in immediate danger, call your local emergency services.
- 2. Contact the Wikimedia Foundation
- Immediately email
emergencywith details of the threat. Alternatively, if your Wikipedia account has email enabled, click here to message the emergency team.
wikimedia.org - These contact methods are for threats of physical harm (including self-harm) only. For other concerns, see Wikipedia:Contact us.
- Provide the exact name or URL of the page where you saw the threat, the time that you saw it, and your time zone. Or (if you know how) provide a diff link.
- This address is monitored around the clock. Staff will typically acknowledge your email immediately. (Check your junk folder.)
- Because of recent (2023) technical issues: if you don't hear back within one hour, forward your email to
ca.[a]wikimedia.org
- Because of recent (2023) technical issues: if you don't hear back within one hour, forward your email to
- Do not email other Wikimedia Foundation addresses, or telephone the Wikimedia Foundation, as this creates confusion.
- Staff will take appropriate action, such as tracing locations and contacting authorities.
- Immediately email
- 3. Contact Wikipedia administrators privately
- Use email, IRC, Discord, or other low-visibility methods, not noticeboards or talk pages.
- If in doubt, the primary method is to use IRC and join the #wikipedia-en-revdel connect channel. To do this quickly and using your browser, click here: Join IRC channel.
- If you need to find an administrator who is active on Wikipedia right now, you can use this tool to locate one.
- Even if you are an administrator, notify other administrators.
Advice for administrators
- Threats of suicide or other self-harm require discretion on the question of blocking but generally, specific threats should be removed (with a thoughtfully worded edit summary) and revision deleted, pending oversight.
- Threats against others should be met with blocking (generally including removal of talk page access) and possibly blocking email as well. Such threats should be blanked; consider applying revdel as well.
- Request oversight (suppression) of any post containing personal information.
- If in doubt, email the office at
emergency; stay off high-traffic noticeboards.wikimedia.org
External links
- A behind the scenes look at the Wikimedia Foundation’s emergency response system, User:Mdennis (WMF), September 22, 2014
- Threats of harm – global guidance from Meta-wiki