Wikipedia has blocked nearly 400 user accounts for what it calls "black hat" editing.

The 381 accounts in question were reportedly accepting money to promote external interests without revealing their affiliation.

In layman's terms, hackers were paid to spread misinformation on the Internet encyclopediaa direct violation of The Wikimedia Foundation's Terms of Use.

"The editors issued these blocks as part of their commitment to ensuring Wikipedia is an accurate, reliable, and neutral knowledge resource for everyone," Foundation members Ed Erhart and Juliet Barbara wrote in a blog post.

An open-source service that anyone with a Web connection and a keyboard can edit, Wikipedia relies heavily on volunteer editors to stay vigilant against folks distorting the truthintentional or not. If an inappropriate edit makes its way in, efforts are made to quickly squash it.

In this case, editors not only blocked 381 so-called "sockpuppet" accounts (those used in misleading or deceptive ways), but also deleted 210 articles created by the same accounts.

Most of the articles, according to Wikimedia, were related to businesses, business people, or artists, and were "generally promotional in nature," often with biased information, unattributed content, and potential copyright violations. Edits across those pages were similar enough that the company believes they were conducted by the same person or persons.

"Readers trust Wikipedia to offer accurate, neutral content, and undisclosed paid advocacy editing violates that trust," Erhart and Barbara wrote. "Sadly, it also deceives the subjects of articles, who may simply be unaware that they are in violation of the spirit and policies of Wikipedia."

This is not the online encyclopedia's first sockpuppeting rodeo: In the fall of 2013, volunteers blocked hundreds of accounts related to consulting firm Wiki-PR. The Wikimedia Foundation later amended its Terms of Use to clarify its ban on the practice.

Not all paid editing is unacceptable: As Barbara and Erhart pointed out, many museum and university workers disclose their official affiliations, while a number of public relations firms have agreed to abide by Wikipedia's guidelines.

Don't think, however, that just because your paid edits haven't been caught, you're off the hook.

"Wikimedia volunteers are vigilant, and articles created by paid advocates will be identified in due time," the company blog said. "The Wikimedia Foundation stands with the Wikipedia community in their efforts to make reliable, accurate knowledge available for everyone."

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