Perfume Genius & Zara Larsson: How to Change Artist Photos on Wikipedia or Musicians vs Wikipedia: How to Update Outdated Artist Photos

The battle for online image control has reached a new level of visibility, with both Perfume Genius and Zara Larsson publicly grappling with unwanted and outdated photos on their Wikipedia pages. What began as a frustrated tweet from musician Mike Hadreas, known professionally as Perfume Genius, has blossomed into a broader conversation about how artists navigate their digital representation in the age of collaborative online encyclopedias.

On Wednesday, February 18, Hadreas took to X (formerly Twitter) with a simple plea: “Can someone please change my Wikipedia pictures? How do you do it? It’s haunted me for years.” The photo in question, he later described as a “corpse in red lipstick,” dated back to 2017. The post quickly gained traction, and a follower was able to assist in updating the image.

Hadreas isn’t alone in this struggle. Swedish pop star Zara Larsson is currently engaged in a very public dispute with a Wikipedia editor who repeatedly reverts her chosen profile picture. Larsson documented the ongoing issue in a recent TikTok video, directly addressing the anonymous editor with a frustrated demand: “Whoever the f*** is changing this f***ing Wikipedia picture to this picture, stop! Stop doing it.” She vowed to continue fighting for a more current image, stating, “I will never stop changing that picture to a nice one. I will never stop.” The TikTok shows Larsson and a friend scrolling through Google Images, searching for a preferred photo.

These instances highlight a common, and often frustrating, reality for musicians and public figures: maintaining accurate and up-to-date representation on a platform as widely used as Wikipedia. While the platform relies on collaborative editing, the process can be easily hijacked by individuals with differing agendas, or simply those who disagree with an artist’s preferred image. The situation is further complicated by Wikipedia’s protection policies.

Larsson’s page, like those of many high-profile artists, is “extended confirmed protected.” This means that only users with a substantial editing history – at least 500 edits – or site administrators can make changes. This level of protection is intended to prevent vandalism and ensure the accuracy of information, but it can also create a bottleneck for artists seeking to update their photos. Hadreas, fortunately, was able to leverage the assistance of a follower to bypass this hurdle.

So, what options do artists have when battling outdated or unflattering Wikipedia photos? Several avenues exist, though each requires a degree of effort and understanding of the platform’s rules. One method involves posting a suitable picture on social media platforms like Instagram, X, or Facebook, accompanied by a licensing statement. Using the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International licence (CC BY-SA 4.0) or Creative Commons Zero Public Domain Dedication 1.0 ensures proper attribution and licensing for future use.

Alternatively, artists can submit a suitable picture directly to photosubmission@wikimedia.org, along with a statement confirming copyright ownership and a licensing agreement. If the artist doesn’t own the copyright, the photographer (or current copyright holder) must submit the release statement instead.

For those willing to create an account, Wikimedia Commons offers another route. Users can upload a file, fill out the necessary information, and then edit the artist’s Wikipedia page to incorporate the new image. A detailed “edit summary” explaining the change is also recommended. Finally, artists can utilize the “Talk” page on their Wikipedia profile to request a photo edit, linking to a suitable image and confirming licensing details.

The ongoing struggles of Perfume Genius and Zara Larsson underscore a growing tension between artists’ control over their public image and the open, collaborative nature of platforms like Wikipedia. While the platform provides a valuable resource for information, it also presents a unique challenge for those seeking to curate their online presence. The incidents serve as a reminder that even in the digital age, maintaining control over one’s narrative requires vigilance and a willingness to engage with the complexities of the online world.