# Multilinguals and Wikipedia Editing

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/1312.0976 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/1312.0976/

## Key facts

- Cited by 9 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 3 Dec 2013.

## Built on by (most cited first, 9 of 9)

- [Bridging Background Knowledge Gaps in Translation with Automatic Explicitation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2312.01308/) (2023)
- [WikiGap: Promoting Epistemic Equity by Surfacing Knowledge Gaps Between English Wikipedia and other Language Editions](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2505.24195/) (2025)
- [Bridging Nations: Quantifying the Role of Multilinguals in Communication on Social Media](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2304.03797/) (2023)
- [Lost in translation: using global fact-checks to measure multilingual misinformation prevalence, spread, and evolution](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.18089/) (2023)
- [Comparing Native and Non-native English Speakers' Behaviors in Collaborative Writing through Visual Analytics](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2502.18681/) (2025)
- [LaSER: Language-Specific Event Recommendation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.04712/) (2023)
- [Cross-Language Evolution of Divergent Collective Memory Around the Arab Spring](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2404.10706/) (2024)
- [Language-Agnostic Modeling of Source Reliability on Wikipedia](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.18803/) (2024)
- [Where's Waldo? Query-language Preference under Cross-lingual Knowledge Disparities](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2610.00606/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

This article analyzes one month of edits to Wikipedia in order to examine the role of users editing multiple language editions (referred to as multilingual users). Such multilingual users may serve an important function in diffusing information across different language editions of the encyclopedia, and prior work has suggested this could reduce the level of self-focus bias in each edition. This study finds multilingual users are much more active than their single-edition (monolingual) counterparts. They are found in all language editions, but smaller-sized editions with fewer users have a higher percentage of multilingual users than larger-sized editions. About a quarter of multilingual users always edit the same articles in multiple languages, while just over 40% of multilingual users edit different articles in different languages. When non-English users do edit a second language edition, that edition is most frequently English. Nonetheless, several regional and linguistic cross-editing patterns are also present.