Editors have been utilizing videos in Wikipedia articles more and more in recent years. Using videos is a great opportunity to add encyclopedic value that wasn’t possible before the internet. Wikipedia has a lot of guidelines when it comes to using videos in its articles, so read on to find out how you can embed videos into Wikipedia articles.

What Is Video Embedding?

When you embed a video into an article, that means that readers can play the video without being redirected to an outside video hosting platform. Wikipedia does allow editors to link to the URL of the video. However, it is discouraged due to copyright violation issues.

Thankfully, adding videos to Wikipedia articles is a pretty straightforward process.

Why Embed A Video?

The benefit of embedding videos into Wikipedia articles is that they make the content more engaging and enhance the viewing experience. Of course, they also add a lot of value to the information. Much like videos on a website or blog, they add information that is difficult to describe in words. Many people are visual thinkers, and it helps them understand the information on a deeper level.

Wikipedia Video Copyright Guidelines

In order to embed a video into a Wikipedia article, the video will need to follow Wikipedia copyright guidelines. For the most part, you will need to upload video files to Wikimedia Commons before adding them to an article. For more information on uploading files to Wikimedia Commons, check out this guide.

Just as with any other file you add to an article, the file must be free to use. You will need to prove that the file is your own work, freely licensed, in the public domain, or falls under fair use. If you create the video yourself, that is considered to be your own work, and you can upload it to Wikipedia as you please.

What Kinds Of Videos Can You Upload?

Wikipedia has four broad categories of videos that you can use on Wiki pages:

• Snapshot – a short clip of a single action
• Performance – a long clip of multiple series of actions
• Summary – a series of images with added narration using VideoWiki
• Tour – a video walk-through of a physical location

Keep in mind that videos should only be used if they are absolutely necessary in order to illustrate the information. If the information could be better explained in words or through images, use those methods instead.

Tips For Creating Wikipedia Videos

All videos should be created with the ease of editing in mind. Once you upload your video, it is free for others to edit and use it as they see fit, so it is important to make it as simple as possible for others.

• Do not provide commentary within the video – this can be done later with VideoWiki.
• Keep the camera steady by using a tripod.
• Don’t move the camera suddenly. If doing a tour, make sure to film slowly enough to people can see the details. Make sure shots are slow and steady.
• Do not include special effects, transitions, or text in the video.

Can You Add YouTube Videos To Wikipedia Articles?

There is no ban on adding YouTube videos to Wikipedia, however, this is typically discouraged. Unfortunately, YouTube as a hosting service has a lot of copyright-infringing material on it. Wikipedia editors must take care to not link to any content in which it is reasonably knowable to be infringing copyright. If you link to copyright-infringing material, you could be banned from editing.

With that said, if you want to find the embed code from a YouTube video, follow these steps.

1. Go to the YouTube video

2. Click Share Options
3. Click Embed

4. Copy the embed code and paste it to your website, blog, or Wikipedia article.

How To Embed A Video (Step-By-Step)

1. File Upload Wizard

Login to your account and follow this link to use the Wikipedia File Upload Wizard to upload your video to Wikimedia Commons. Click through all of the steps and enter information as requested.

2. Get The Embed Link

Once your video is uploaded, you will be given a video embed code. Leave this page open so you can copy the link.

3. Edit An Article

Go to the article you wish to add a video to and click “Edit” to edit the page. Find the point in the article where you want to embed the video.

4. Add To Article

Copy the embed code and paste it into the article. When you are done, click Publish Changes at the bottom of the page.

In Closing

Adding videos to Wikipedia is a simple way to add even more information to articles. Make sure to follow the copyright guidelines to protect your account from blocks or bans. If you are having trouble navigating Wikipedia, the expert team at WikiCreators is here to help. We create, manage, maintain, and repair Wikipedia articles for you and your business. Contact us to create a personalized strategy to suit your needs.