Fandom
| Basic information | |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2006-12-12 |
| Legal Structure | Private |
| Industry | Entertainment |
| Official website | https://www.fandom.com/ |
Fandom, formerly known as Wikia, is a platform composed mainly of user-generated content on different types of multimedia, including video games, movies, series, and books. It also owns several entertainment outlets, such as GameSpot and TV Guide, as well as other multimedia databases, such as GameFAQs and MetaCritic.
Consumer-impact summary
Incidents
This is a list of all consumer-protection incidents this company is involved in. Any incidents not mentioned here can be found in the Fandom category.
Autoplaying Videos (September 2017)
Throughout 2017, Fandom introduced autoplaying to several popular video game wikis, such as RuneScape and Fallout. These videos were inserted without prior consultation with editors, and many of them contained misinformation about the games covered by the wikis. The editorial team had to post notices informing users that they had no control over the videos, which were created solely by Fandom.[1] Some of the videos contained mispronunciations of in-game items, as well as featured stolen material from game footage. Notably, the videos produced about “Zamik Wizard”[2] are commonly referred to as a joke by the community due to the poor quality of the video.
Fandom Shop (September 2020)
At the end of 2020, the company introduced links to “Fandom Shop” on various wikis, an initiative by the company to distribute merchandise. This measure was criticized by users, as the links were embedded in the site's navigation without prior consultation by administrators. In addition, some of the products included poor-quality bootlegs products.[3]
Online Grooming and Sexual Harassment (November 2023)
In 2023, writer and video game developer Christopher Howard Wolf, under the alias “Slimebeast”, posted several videos discussing how Fandom had allowed minors to be exposed to inappropriate content and citing concerns that child moderators had to maintain contact with groomers. Additionally, Howard Wolf criticized the fact that Fandom was using underage volunteers to moderate its platform instead of proper employees to moderate the situation.[4]
AI Translations (July 2025)
In July 2025, Fandom began experimenting with creating wikis in other languages using Generative AI. The move was boycotted by users, citing concerns about replacing editors and translators who had previously worked on the website to provide high-quality translations manually, as well as the dismantling of international support for other languages.[5] [6] In response, a petition was launched to halt the process of automating translations with Generative AI, with approximately 390 different editors signing up to have the project canceled.[7]
Stowarzyszenie Minecraft Wiki Polska (August 2025)
In early August 2025, Stowarzyszenie Minecraft Wiki Polska, which hosts the independent wiki for the video game “Minecraft” developed by Mojang for the Polish language, filed a DMCA claim for copyright infringement following the transfer of data from Gamepedia to Fandom.[8]
Lawsuits
Vishal Shah v. Fandom, Inc. (September 2024)
In 2024, Vishal Shah sued Fandom for privacy violations, claiming that the company was sharing IP address information with external platforms, including Meta.[9][10][11]
Products
See also
References
- ↑ "(PSA) Featured Videos on the RuneScape Wiki". r/runescape via Reddit. 2017-09-05. Retrieved 2025-08-18.
- ↑ "(PSA) Featured Videos on the Old School RuneScape Wiki". r/2007scape via Reddit. 2017-08-05. Retrieved 2025-08-18.
As you can probably guess, me and my colleagues are pissed about this change. And the worst thing is that we have ZERO SAY about this; it is out of our control. We have even created a template that we have added right underneath these videos to emphasize that these videos were made by the company, and not us, the admins who provide you with actual quality articles.
- ↑ "Wikia/FANDOM are rolling out a "Shop" tab on Wikis, filled with affiliate (for profit) links to stores. I would like to make folks aware that nearly 99% of items in this tab are UNOFFICIAL/BOOTLEGS". Danganronpa Wiki via Twitter. 2020-09-16. Retrieved 2025-07-17.
- ↑ "Wikitubia has a Minor Issue - Plus CreepsMcPasta Caught in 4k". Slimebeast via YouTube. 2023-11-19. Retrieved 2025-08-18.
That mod he referred to WAS THE UNDERAGED MOD THAT DID WHAT HE REQUESTED, proving that Wikitubia having on minors as mods puts them in direct contact with groomers. Imagine EDP DMing a kid mod who has a "duty" to talk to him.
- ↑ "Fandom is planning to start translating English wiki articles into other languages using AI. If you log in to view comments on the blogpost announcing this, you can see this decision is extremely unpopular with Fandom editors". Mossbag69 via Twitter. 2025-07-08. Retrieved 2025-08-17.
- ↑ "Apparently @getFANDOM is planning to launch AI generated non English wikis, and I *cannot* stress enough how bad this idea is, and how disrespectful it is to the people who create the content on their platform". Jordan Wilson via Twitter. 2025-07-07. Retrieved 2025-07-17.
- ↑ "We are now over 390 editor signatures against Fandom's new plan to use AI to translate wikis from English to other languages. This replaces human editors with AI, and if Fandom is serious about supporting foreign languages, invest in people. Not machines". Jordan Wilson via Twitter. 2025-07-11. Retrieved 2025-08-17.
- ↑ "David and Goliath - on Polish Minecraft Wiki taking legal action against Fandom". Frisk.space Blog. 2025-08-06. Retrieved 2025-08-17.
Fandom has "aggregated content from the wiki" and by doing so has started to violate the license agreements. We read that "as a result of wiki account transfers, at least 1440 different usernames being pseudonyms of their creators were damaged". By result of doing so, Fandom couldn't fulfill the authorship requirement of Creative Commons licensed used by the wiki (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0).
- ↑ Brown, Christopher (2024-10-24). "Users Advance Fandom 'Pen Register' Suit Over IP Address Sharing". Bloomberg Law. Retrieved 2025-08-17.
- ↑ Landis, Blake (2024-10-25). "Ninth Circuit Ruling Shows How CIPA Applies to Internet Tracking". The National Law Review. Retrieved 2025-08-17.
- ↑ "Proposed class says Fandom illegally tracked IP addresses". The Daily Journal. Retrieved 2025-08-17.