# When Wikipedia decides you don't matter > Hundreds of people lose their Wikipedia biographies each year. For those who had them, the deletion feels like erasure. - Title: When Wikipedia decides you don't matter · WIRED | Shortify - Summary: Hundreds of people lose their Wikipedia biographies each year. For those who had them, the deletion feels like erasure. Wikipedia deletes hundreds of… - Keywords: wikipedia, notability, deletion, online identity, martina dimoska, kiril simeonovski, digital erasure, encyclopedia, verification, decides, don't, matter - Source: WIRED — https://wired.com/story/the-tragedy-of-losing-your-wikipedia-page - Author: Duncan Fyfe - Published: 2026-10-26T10:00:00+00:00 - Read time: 4 min - Topics: wikipedia, notability, deletion, online identity, martina dimoska, kiril simeonovski, digital erasure, encyclopedia, verification ## Hundreds lose their Wikipedia pages each year Every day, dozens or sometimes hundreds of Wikipedia biographies are deleted on grounds that subjects lack sufficient notability. Xavier Trudeau, Tim McCord and Rainer Holtorff all had pages nominated for deletion this year. ## Wikipedia prioritizes verification over truth Wikipedia editors focus on what is verifiable through reliable sources, not what is true. The encyclopedia removed a claim that American Civil War officer Nathaniel Lyon drank mustard during battle after 17 years, not because… > We're not really looking for what's true. We're looking for what's verifiable. ## Editors debate notability, not editors decide it Wikipedia editors do not themselves determine notability.Instead, they assess whether reliable evidence supports a subject's claim to note. > Wikipedia coverage is not a prize. ## Having a Wikipedia page signals importance Though Wikipedia does not intend biographies as prizes, they carry weight. Editor Britta Gustafson, editing since 2001, acknowledged that having an article implies something about a person's significance and standing. > Having an article says something. It implies something. ## Martina Dimoska celebrates her Wikipedia page On April 29, Martina Dimoska, an analog astronaut and science communicator at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, posted on Facebook celebrating her new Wikipedia biography. > A few years ago, building a career in space from the Balkans felt impossible. ## Her page is nominated for deletion the next day The day after Dimoska's Facebook post, her Wikipedia biography was nominated for deletion. Editor Anne Clin, who has edited Wikipedia since 2005, warned that celebrating a Wikipedia article is folly, especially for borderline notable subjects. ## Kiril Simeonovski questions her notability Kiril Simeonovski, an economist in Skopje, Macedonia and Wikipedia editor since 2008, found Dimoska's post self-congratulatory and her biography promotional.He doubted the notability of an analog astronaut, a role he likened to a lab mouse. ## Simeonovski argues the biography is overhyped Simeonovski described Dimoska's biography as merely a chronology of overhyped personal achievements. He found the timing of her Facebook post suspicious, coming shortly after the article was approved, suggesting she was connected to its creation. > merely [a] chronology of overhyped personal achievements ## Subjects rarely respond to deletion threats When the author reached out to hundreds of people facing Wikipedia deletion, the response rate to questions about how it felt to be deemed non-notable was about one percent or lower. ## Wikipedia pages matter professionally Songer said he needs his Wikipedia page not for vanity but because it gives him credibility as an expert witness in trials.Attorneys use it as a reference. > The page is a good reference for attorneys. ## Three biographies are deleted Matthew Songer's biography was deleted. Maneli Mirkhan's biography was deleted. Andrew Wyant, a Phoenix-area executive in fitness and nutrition, also had his biography deleted for lacking secondary source coverage. ## Mirkhan's page reappears with new sources Days after deletion, Maneli Mirkhan's biography reappeared, rewritten with new sources.Mirkhan said she had not recreated it herself, but she was not surprised.French media regularly sought her commentary on Iran, generating coverage that demonstrated notability. ## Simeonovski questions Dimoska's sourcing Simeonovski argued that Dimoska's biography relied on weak sourcing, including posts from her LinkedIn page. ## Anonymous users defend Dimoska online During the debate, new Wikipedia users with suspicious usernames defended Dimoska.One called themselves Kiril's mom.Another used a coded reference to Simeonovski's mother's name.Both accounts were blocked. ## Simeonovski dismantles the new sources Simeonovski examined the 32 new sources added to Dimoska's biography.He found that what was cited as The Telegraph was actually the Albanian news website Telegrafi. > I fail to find a single independent and reputable English-language source. ## The anonymous user questions Simeonovski's motives The anonymous user rebutted Simeonovski point by point, noting he had found ten sources from non-independent websites when writing about the former governor of the National Bank of North Macedonia. ## Dimoska and Simeonovski knew each other Dimoska revealed she had interacted with Simeonovski on social media before and crossed paths through mutual friends.Simeonovski admitted the possibility of virtual interaction. ## Dimoska's page is kept despite the debate One month after Simeonovski nominated Dimoska's biography for deletion, an editor closed the debate in her favor.The editor noted evidence of canvassing and sockpuppetry but found sufficient reasoned opposition to prevent deletion. > Given the bludgeoning, canvassing, and sockpuppetry evident here, this is a no consensus closure without prejudice against speedy renomination. ## Simeonovski himself was once deleted Kiril Simeonovski created his own Wikipedia page when he joined in 2008, unaware of notability policies.It was promptly deleted. > If your achievements, etc., are verifiable and genuinely notable and thus suitable for inclusion in Wikipedia, someone else will probably create an article about you sooner or later. ## Key takeaway Wikipedia deletes hundreds of biographies yearly on notability grounds, leaving subjects feeling erased despite their real achievements and professional value.