Editors of the online encyclopedia Wikipedia tend to update Wikipedia articles with information about deaths quickly after people die.^[3][4] Web developer and Wikipedia editor Hay Kranen coined the term "deaditor" to refer to these editors.^[5] Articles about people often have large spikes in views just after they die. For example, the article about designer Kate Spade averaged 2,117 views in 48-hour periods before her death. In the 48 hours after her death, it got 3,417,416, an increase of 161,427%.^[6][7][8]

The media have remarked on the site's quick updates after the deaths of people such as Michael Jackson^[9] and Elizabeth II.^[5][10][11]

In 2009, English-language Wikipedia adopted new quality control measures to verify information on the biographies of living people, including claims of death.^[12]

When a biographee dies of a disease, the progress of that disease may also be described.^[13]