10 Times Wikipedia Got It Horribly Wrong

#10: Robbie Williams Eating Pets for Money

If you just did a double take, we wouldnt blame you. Robbie Williams has been a famous musician for over half his life, and has presumably made enough to live a comfortable if not lavish life. Yet, in 2006, someone hacked his page to say that he made cash on the side by eating pets in various bars. How someone could make money doing such a thing, along with who made the update, is still unknown today. The hoax luckily didnt negatively impact his career, but it was an early sign that the editing feature could be abused just to make a bad joke.

#9: Coatimundis are Brazilian Aardvarks

All it takes is an odd source and a professional-sounding statement to spread a fake fact. Such was the case of the Coatimundi, an odd-looking animal in the raccoon family that fell victim to a Wikipedia hoax in 2008. Dylan Breves edited the page to include one simple inclusion: that they were also known as Brazilian aardvarks. Breves assumed it would be corrected right away, and moved on. It wasnt until a year later when he saw his fake term circulating the web that he realized how believable it was. It had been picked up by online and physical media, which only made it harder to prove it wasnt true. Its proof of how easy it is for even relatively mild lies to be accepted.

#8: David Beckham Was An 18th Century Goalkeeper

His talent doesnt just begin and end with football it turns out hes also an expert time traveler as well. In 2007, sports legend David Beckham had his Wikipedia page vandalized to report that he had been a goalkeeper for a Chinese team in the 18th century. Besides the fact that this wouldve taken place hundreds of years before he was born, its also a position hes never played professionally before. The whole thing is obviously wrong from top to bottom. The fact that it managed to get past the other editors in the first place and remain published is testament to why they had to tighten their rules a couple of years later.

#7: Chris Benoits Horrific Crimes

Its not often one can say a Wikipedia edit lands them in hot water legally. In 2007, wrestler Chris Benoit carried out a horrific act against his family, before taking his own life. Before that information had been released, a poster had updated Benoits page to report that he had missed a match because his wife had passed away. The updates had been made just hours before the bodies had been found, making the user behind them seem even more suspicious. He was eventually found and interrogated, where he insisted that he had made the changes based on rumors hed seen online. It was purely an eerie coincidence that shouldve never been published without verification in the first place.

#6: John Seigenthaler Was Involved in John F. Kennedys Assassination

This wouldnt be the first conspiracy theory to arise from this event, but it doesnt make it any less shocking. John Seigenthaler, a journalist and political aide, had his Wikipedia page edited in 2005 to say that he had been a suspect in both Robert and John F. Kennedys assassinations. It was a horrific claim to make given his closeness to both men. The libelous statement had been up for months before he noticed it, and continued circulating the web even after he had it deleted. In response, he lambasted the site for its oversight, and warned the government that future politicians and elections would be subject to the spreading of false information. In hindsight, he wasnt wrong and were only learning those consequences now.

#5: Essjay

Wikipedia editors may come across as experts, but at the end of the day, theyre anonymous strangers behind a screen. Essjay was one of their top contributors in the mid-2000s. He claimed to be a professor of religious studies, and his credentials helped him gain power on the site. Yet, there were some cracks that began to emerge that implied he wasnt who he said he was. It caused an uproar within the community. It was eventually revealed that he wasnt an educator at all, but a 24-year-old with an alias. He resigned from his positions, but that didnt stop the accusations of fraud. It goes to show that lying about your identity online can help protect yourself, but can also lead to dire consequences.

#4: The Bicholim Conflict

The world has a long, rich history filled with excitement, making it seem reasonable that some things would slip through the cracks of peoples memories. However, a war between the Portuguese-owned Goa and India is not something that could easily be forgotten. In 2007, an article detailing a fictional struggle between the two countries was created. It was known as the Bicholim Conflict, and it claimed that it led to Goa being declared its own independent state. While it all sounded well researched, such an event had never taken place at all. Allowing a hoax to be published as fact is bad enough but it being up for five years before being deleted goes to show how easy it is to accidentally corroborate a lie.

#3: JarEdo Wens

If you thought an obvious hoax existing for five years was bad, wait until you hear this. Theres a plethora of deities around the world, making it understandable that many people wouldnt know every single one. That made it easy for Jared Owens to create the page for a faux Aboriginal God called JarEdo Wens in 2005. The article consisting of two sentences and the picture he used of the supposed religious figure shouldve made it obvious it was a joke. Yet, it survived for nine years, was included on several non-English versions, and was even cited in an atheists book before being deleted in 2015. It was, at the time, the longest-running prank on the website, and is proof that some people will in fact believe anything they see online.

#2: Taner Akçams Detainment

Most Wikipedia hoaxes end up sounding like a silly story years later. However, there have been some that have led to serious consequences. Taner Akçam was one of the first Turkish historians to acknowledge the Armenian genocide. He was inundated with online harassment, including having his page updated to refer to him as a terrorist. The false information was then used as justification to falsely detain him in Montreal in 2007. Though it was cleared up, he was stopped days later in the United States, and was even told to stay away from the border until it was resolved. It got so bad that the websites founder, Jimmy Wales, stepped forward to express his regret, and another editor issued a personal apology.

#1: Ashleigh Ashton Moore

False facts on Wikipedia may seem like a phenomenon restricted to the less-moderated days of the 2000s. However, there are some pages with wrong information that are still up today. When you look at Ashleigh Aston Moores biography, you may not see anything out of the ordinary just her short-lived career and eventual tragic death. Her brother revealed on Reddit in 2025 that everything from her birthday to her cause of death was completely incorrect, and had been since its creation in 2007. The sources had all been cited from an erroneous book, which editors used as justification to ignore her familys attempts at correcting the article. While some things have been updated, its unclear whether the rest of her story will ever be added.

Whats the most incorrect fact youve ever seen on Wikipedia? Let us know in the comments below!