I am sure that the wikipedia entry was very harmful.
E.g. I regularly google the name of people that I will have a meeting with (as preparation) or trying to find the linkedin profile. I am sure many HR departments do this as well.
In this case it would have been something like:
1) google name
2) oh. The applicant has the same name as a serial killer
3) click on wikipedia article
4) OMG
5) the applicant being significantly less likely to receive an offer
In this case it would have been something like: 1) google name 2) oh. The applicant has the same name as a serial killer 3) click on wikipedia article 4) OMG 5) the applicant being significantly less likely to receive an offer