What to do about incorrect data?

MaryAnn1952

My family tree has incorrect data that has been entered by other people who are minimally related to me as in a step child as well as a stranger have entered incorrect data and I am trying to correct it while getting rid of the duplications that are also in error.

Example, My mother's name was listed in at least 4 different ways that I have found so far yet birthplace, birth and death dates looked okay.

Mark McKenzie_1

@MaryAnn1952 You might consider providing a PID. I don't doubt that someone can lend a hand. Would need the PID — that combination of letters and numbers e.g. ABCD-123 just below and to the right of the individual's name.

betsy123

@MaryAnn1952 I have had this happen before and it is frustrating! FamilySearch is a shared tree and there are instances when correct information is changed in the tree by someone who hasn’t checked the sources. I simply begin by changing the record back to reflect the correct information. Sometimes this can take quite a while depending on how many changes were made. You can also check the “alert note” box. This places a warning sign on the top of the details page, notifying others to check the sources before changing any information. When you have occasion to change the information on a person’s page, you can add detailed Reason Statements. This helps clarify why you made the changes. These actions do not prevent someone from changing your family record again, but they can certainly help. There are other platforms such as Ancestry which allow a family tree to be private, and this might be another option for you. If you need help correcting your record, you would find help by sharing the PID here.

Nyx773

Be sure to click "⭐️ Follow" on every profile of interest to you so that you are notified of any changes. Up to once a week, there will be a red dot next to the bell if anyone other than you has changed anything. But what I do is to have the "Following" page bookmarked so that is the first page I see when I log in, enabling me to view the change logs for everyone (there is about a 10-minute delay between profile changes and the Following list).

https://www.familysearch.org/en/tree/following/

Áine.ní.Donnghaile

I check my Following list first thing every day. Most issues are easier to fix when we catch them early.

Most changes are good-faith mistakes. Occasionally, there is malicious destruction.