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RfC: The Daily Wire

The following discussion is an archived record of a request for comment. Please do not modify it. No further edits should be made to this discussion. A summary of the conclusions reached follows.
In this discussion, the community re-considers the reliability of the Daily Wire. The discussion has lasted for the requisite period of 30 days. Some editors below opine that useful discussion is still continuing, and they are mistaken. This has been a very long discussion containing many words, particularly from a few editors who are very passionate on this subject, and both sides have exhautively made their case.
The community does not reach consensus to deprecate the Daily Wire. But the community is, very clearly, of the view that the Daily Wire should only be used with great caution. In this discussion editors demonstrate that it is a biased source. Editors show that it selects the stories it covers, it chooses not to mention key points that disfavour its preferred politics, and it blatantly panders to a US conservative agenda. Although this discussion unearths evidence that the Daily Wire has sometimes shown a minimum regard for the truth by printing retractions where these are warranted, the status quo is that the Daily Wire is seen as generally unreliable, and this discussion does not change that. Like any "generally unreliable" source, it should not be used as the sole source for a point of fact, but it can be used with attribution for statements about someone's opinion.
As there is no consensus, I will not change our current wording at WP:RSP. I hope this helps. Questions, comments and feedback about this close should be directed to my talk page in the first instance.—S Marshall T/C 13:05, 27 October 2021 (UTC)

Question: Should the status of The Daily Wire be changed from Generally unreliable to Deprecated? See discussion at Wikipedia talk:Reliable sources/Perennial sources#Daily Wire

Valjean (talk) 04:34, 27 September 2021 (UTC)

Survey, The Daily Wire

The story has a correction already. Elsewhere on this page it has been claimed that this is something that testifies to the working editorial processes. Alaexis¿question? 18:31, 23 October 2021 (UTC)
"Working editorial process"? You just don't publish reports on unverified crap like that unless you are irresponsible in the first place. No real journalist would do that, and no editor worth his salt would allow such an article to publish in the first place. It's as if DW is using their website like it's social media and toss out whatever is on their mind with no thought. The damage has already been done when someone publishes lies like that. Retractions are important, but rarely amend the damage they have caused in the first place. Retractions should be rare. This points further to DW being generally unreliable as a source at best, and dangerous at worst. Wikipedia should have no part in forwarding the knee-jerk utterances of such writers. Platonk (talk) 18:48, 23 October 2021 (UTC)
Anyone who believes that the retraction of a 100% false story sourced to random people on twitter saying something (but stated as if an official arm of a government said such a thing) based on completely fabricated documents posted on random facebook groups demonstrates "working editorial processes" lacks the competence to edit here - anyone that believes this should have their editing closely monitored for acts that will bring the project into disrepute. Luckily, even you don't believe this. Hipocrite (talk) 20:30, 23 October 2021 (UTC)
Indeed. Does it have a "reputation for fact-checking"? No, it has a history of occasionally issuing corrections after OTHERS have caught them with their hand in the cookie jar. That shows a disturbing pattern that warrants deprecation. -- Valjean (talk) 21:09, 23 October 2021 (UTC)
1) Wasn't a "random person on Twitter". He runs a think tank. 2) Anyone who believes that the retraction of a 100% false story...demonstrates "working editorial processes" lacks the competence to edit here is an unnecessarily personal remark. 3) They admit mistakes and openly post corrections at the top of the story unlike the [https://www.foxnews.com/media/new-york-times-stealth-edits-aoc-iron-dome-israel NY Times which is (allegedly) above reproach. Can't we all just agree that the various news outlets get stories wrong and they should clearly post corrections...exactly like DW did? Buffs (talk) 05:01, 26 October 2021 (UTC)
Buffs, I changed the indentation level of your comment immediately above as it's obviously a response to Hipocrite. -- Valjean (talk) 15:16, 26 October 2021 (UTC)
No, my response was to all of you. Buffs (talk) 15:21, 26 October 2021 (UTC)
Oh. My mistake. Sorry about that. Carry on. -- Valjean (talk) 16:00, 26 October 2021 (UTC)

Malformed survey

A solid percentage of people reviewing this have voiced that this is a partisan source, but is generally reliable for facts (I think it would be reasonable to say that climate issues should use caution). Few have argued for deprecation. Framing this discussion as if this is nexus of the dispute is absurd/hyperpartisan and inappropriate for the guidelines of an RfC (it is not a neutral statement). It is inappropriately framed as a False dilemma: the options should be more broad than this as the result is "Yes: get rid of it all" or "No: it's just not a reliable source". Likewise, many statements in prior discussions have been based on sources that don't say what the authors claim. Claiming "I don't need sources because others will provide it and I'll retroactively agree" is absurd. Establisher of this RfC has not pinged users who were previously involved. Buffs (talk) 05:01, 27 September 2021 (UTC)

The following options should be added:
Option 3: Treat as a partisan source for information on par with the HuffPost politics and Fox News politics
Option 4: Treat as a generally reliable source for information
Buffs (talk) 05:06, 27 September 2021 (UTC)
Nah. When this RfC is completely finished, you can create one with those options.
The discussion at RS/P produced such excellent and strong criticism from many good reliable and scholarly sources that I was tempted to go for full blacklisting, but decided to go for what was suggested there, which was deprecation. -- Valjean (talk) 05:13, 27 September 2021 (UTC)
Nah. When this RfC is completely finished, you can create one with those options. When the conclusion prevents such a discussion? Yeah right. Like I said, this is an attempt to game the system. Buffs (talk) 05:24, 27 September 2021 (UTC)
Why can't we use the same format as Metalmaidens.com listed below for this RfC? Oh, right, it would prevent you from getting the exact result you want and prevents me (or others) from offering any alternatives. Yep: WP:GAME. Buffs (talk) 05:28, 27 September 2021 (UTC)
I chose this because the rules for RfCs allow several different formats, and, based on the direction and recommendations in the previous discussion, this seemed to be the logical choice. All the arguments and sources presented there undercut your attempts to get TDW rated as a good source when it's actually a horrible source. -- Valjean (talk) 05:34, 27 September 2021 (UTC)
It isn't a neutral statement, therefore it fails RfC criteria. Sources used as a rationale for such options in the past are misleadingly summarized; Example: "Scores high for bias and low for reliability on https://www.adfontesmedia.com/interactive-media-bias-chart/" when in fact it states ""Reliable for news, but high in analysis/opinion content" As such, neither option is an appropriate choice, but you've excluded those options and ignored other discussions on that page as well as other discussions in the past. So, no, that isn't a faithful summary of the previous discussions on the subject. Buffs (talk) 05:51, 27 September 2021 (UTC)
Nor did you invite the previous people in those discussions to this RfC... Buffs (talk) 15:49, 4 October 2021 (UTC)
@Buffs: The RfC nom did, actually. I direct you to WP:Canvassing. The RfC nom correctly used appropriate notification to notify participants in several other threads. If he/she omitted any by mistake (since you've buttered this topic all over Wikipedia, and who can keep track of it all), you were/are welcome to notify those other participants or threads yourself. Platonk (talk) 01:32, 5 October 2021 (UTC)
To the best of my knowledge, he only mentioned this RfC in one of the two on that page and did not invite any previous participants. If he's made more efforts, he should publish them. You're the one who's claiming he did so. Where else has this been published? Why hasn't it been marked at the top of the discussion per Wikipedia:Publicising_discussions? Why haven't other editors been informed? Buffs (talk) 21:04, 5 October 2021 (UTC)
@Buffs: I see notices and invitations/pings at Wikipedia talk:Reliable sources/Perennial sources#Daily Wire [33] [34] and Wikipedia:Administrators' noticeboard/Incidents#Please restore RfC remarks [35]. Where else do you think editors should have been notified? Who wasn't notified that you think should have been? Platonk (talk) 22:27, 5 October 2021 (UTC)
How about all the people who were involved in the previous 3 discussions 1 2 3 and other discussions I've mentioned above? How about the talk page of the subject? Instead, he chose one specific thread and one barely tangentially related ANI page where opinion was in his favor and posted links/tagged those people only. So, no, that's not a neutral notification. Buffs (talk) 16:15, 6 October 2021 (UTC)
If there are no objections, I'll happily tag all those people and invite them here (assuming they haven't already been invited), but I'm also not going to be accused of WP:CANVASSING if there are. The originator has already said "nah" to including anyone else. Buffs (talk) 16:39, 6 October 2021 (UTC)
Buffs, I placed a prominent notice at the end of the discussion, as noted above. Everyone in that thread, especially yourself, as the starter of the thread, had a chance to read it. The RfC process automatically alerted two different topic areas, so even more people would notice this RfC. So those who had been involved in your WP:RS/P discussion noticed it, as well as many who didn't know anything about what was going on. My edit summaries, which are read by many people who don't participate, were also clear about the new RfC here. I tried to do the right thing. I don't start RfCs very often.
Also, I don't recall saying anything like that above about "anyone else" ("The originator has already said "nah" to including anyone else."). What I said was "Nah. When this RfC is completely finished, you can create one with those options." That was at 05:13, 27 September 2021. -- Valjean (talk) 03:18, 7 October 2021 (UTC)
As noted above, see Wikipedia:Publicising_discussions#Best_pracitces:
  • If you do post notices, also post a comment at the discussion talk page that such notices have been made.
  • Best practice include making a note of where the discussion has been publicised
Dozens of people participated in previous discussions. The only way they'd know about this one is if they regularly follow the page. Those people should be contacted/tagged, IMHO. If there is no objection, I'll try to contact them in a few days. Buffs (talk) 16:30, 7 October 2021 (UTC)
This line of discussion is disruptive. There is no constructive reason for you to beat this dead horse and repeatedly harangue an editor over your days-old accusation of an omission that you yourself could have remedied if it were true. If putting a generic notice on a particular talk page isn't canvassing, then do it and quit complaining that someone else didn't do it. If notifying individual editors who were involved in discussions that took place in 2018, 2019 and 2020 is canvassing, then don't do that. If you are uncertain about the scope or details of the WP:Canvassing guidelines, then try asking your questions on its talk page or on a noticeboard with the purpose of discussing/clarifying policies. See also WP:Do not disrupt Wikipedia to illustrate a point. Platonk (talk) 18:31, 7 October 2021 (UTC)
If you think this is disruptive, then stop asking questions. You can't ask repeated questions/ask for clarification and then use that as evidence of alleged disruption when a person responds. I can't possibly ask some talk page to see what your opinion is or seek clarification of your intent (if I do so, couldn't that be considered canvassing when I ask about the situation?). Asking for clarification is what a talk page is for; it's not disruption. Buffs (talk) 18:48, 7 October 2021 (UTC)
@Buffs: Don't twist this around to pretend your hands are clean and your disruptive comments are all my fault. I asked questions once [36] and it was rhetorical — to suggest you do it yourself. And that was after I told you to handle alleged omissions yourself [37]. But instead of doing that, you have continued this line of badgering by posting five more comments [38] [39] [40] [41] [42]. This noticeboard is not a talk page and your contributions here should be focused on improving the encyclopedia. Your pattern of pettifogging comments suggests you are not trying to resolve anything, but instead are being POINTY to the brink of exasperation. So if anyone has been making this subthread continue, it sure as day wasn't my questions 7 posts back! Stop gaslighting me! Platonk (talk) 21:04, 7 October 2021 (UTC)
Which is why I asked the originator of this RfC for clarification, not you (a request that has been ignored). This noticeboard is effectively a talk page just like any other notice board and a place to discuss differences and reach a consensus (thereby improving WP). Discussing behavioral standards is part of that. To categorize dissent from your personal views/collegial discussion as "disruption" is inherently uncivil. You are the one who is slinging accusations left and right here, not me, and I ask that you stop. Buffs (talk) 14:40, 9 October 2021 (UTC)
@Buffs if there is one piece of advice I could give you, it is that replying endlessly to all of these threads and comments with "citation needed" and repetitions of previously answered arguments.... all of it is detrimental to your goal. Reading this thread, uninvolved users are less likely to side with you as a result, not more. My advice overall is to step back from this and take a breather. If your criticisms are indeed valid, it is very likely someone else will respond. — Shibbolethink ( ) 15:20, 10 October 2021 (UTC)
I didn't ask for your advice. I've not replied to "all these threads" and exaggerations like these are part of the problem here. Comments like "it's garbage propaganda" need a citation as they are feeding a negative image that is being formed via guilt-by-accusation. Others have responded. Buffs (talk) 16:01, 11 October 2021 (UTC)
Referring to 67 replies by a single user on just one RfC is not 'an exaggeration'. Platonk (talk) 16:35, 11 October 2021 (UTC)
Platonk without making any statement on right/wrong/otherwise of these opinions etc. I think this is a very clear case of WP:IDHT. In general, my advice to you is to also stop responding. Uninvolved editors can very easily see and understand the situation here. It's not rocket science. Indeed, this is actually often used as a shorthand to understand how lopsided the consensus is. Seeing intense "badgerers" (for lack of a better term) in a discussion.
I admit, I myself have been guilty of this. I would bet most of us have been at one point or another! But the important thing is recognizing it. It's difficult to recognize in oneself, but very easy to recognize in others. — Shibbolethink ( ) 01:56, 12 October 2021 (UTC)

If you don't want to get blocked for personal attacks and assuming bad faith, you should strike your GAME and other personalizing comments. -- Valjean (talk) 05:38, 27 September 2021 (UTC)

I see your actions as an attempt to game the system. I asked for you to include options I want and you've refused. Given that you've also stated you control the conversation now and that I can't start an RfC until this one is over, I stand by my assessment. This isn't the place for such discussion. If you want to discuss it further, you know the proper venues. Buffs (talk) 05:51, 27 September 2021 (UTC)
collapsed per WP:OFFTOPIC— Shibbolethink ( ) 15:25, 10 October 2021 (UTC)

I have removed a lengthy, tendentious section inserted by Buffs which makes wholly-unsupported and unsupportable accusations of connections to pedophilia. If Buffs believes a mass-market novel published in the United States by reputable mainstream publishers and favorably reviewed by a number of mainstream sources is "pedophilia," Wikipedia is not the place to promote their (wrong) beliefs. This insinuation borders on a personal attack and is wildly inappropriate. NorthBySouthBaranof (talk) 06:32, 27 September 2021 (UTC)

I think you are confusing Lawn Boy and Lawn Boy. My comments are that WP has the exact same standards as DW and the mother in question. Restore my comments. Buffs (talk) 07:05, 27 September 2021 (UTC)
Wrong. You know nothing about books and nothing about the First Amendment. As evidenced by the book's Amazon entry, Jonathan Evison's coming-of-age novel Lawn Boy was published by Algonquin Books, favorably reviewed by the NYT, the Washington Post, and a variety of other mainstream outlets, given starred reviews by Library Journal, Booklist, and Publishers Weekly, and named a 2018 Editors Choice pick of Booklist. The novel is factually and legally not "pedophilia" and for you to suggest or state that it is, is frankly outright libelous toward the author. You may not use this platform to smear Jonathan Evison, a living person and a noted novelist, as a purported advocate of pedophilia - or to smear me for defending the work as being of literary merit. NorthBySouthBaranof (talk) 07:52, 27 September 2021 (UTC)
Off-topic, but I am reminded of Cuties. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 09:02, 27 September 2021 (UTC)
"Wrong. You know nothing about books..." is hardly a WP:CIVIL comment. Furthermore, I very clearly did not "smear" you and went so far as to clarify it. As for this particular passage, I was pointing out what the person who was talking to the school board was presenting. If she was inaccurate, that's on her. There's a vast difference. The point here (and that I very clearly repeated before you deleted it) was that such passages, as described, fell under pedophilia and that WP has the same standards. In case there was any misconception, let me be crystal clear: I am NOT in any way accusing you of posting or defending pedophilia at this time. Reasonable people can disagree about content and whether it is appropriate for a school to have. Buffs (talk) 15:47, 4 October 2021 (UTC)

I completely disagree with Buffs' assessment of the Daily Wire, but can understand their frustration by this RfC. There was a discussion opened about whether to [effectively] upgrade the Daily Wire at RSP, and while that was ongoing an RfC opened about whether to downgrade it. If the opposite were the case: if we were talking about deprecation and Buffs opened an RfC proposing to upgrade it to no consensus, that would be roundly seen as disruptive. There is a key difference, of course, is that the source clearly is unreliable for statements of fact. Still, I wouldn't be opposed to adding other options. I considered not !voting, but since I guess we haven't had a real RfC on this source before... meh. — Rhododendrites talk \\ 15:15, 27 September 2021 (UTC)

So, procedurally disruptive, but because you agree with him it's ok? Isn't that a bit of a double standard? Buffs (talk) 16:37, 6 October 2021 (UTC)
No, and no. I highlighted a key difference in the hypothetical, but it's a hypothetical. If you read my !vote, I didn't support (or oppose) deprecation. We could use an RfC on it, I suppose, so while this one isn't ideal, I figured I'd respond as though it were a more typical source reliability RfC. — Rhododendrites talk \\ 15:38, 10 October 2021 (UTC)

Consulting the Media Bias Chart: Disclaimer, I know Adfontes isn't the infinite oracle of wisdom here but I think it's interesting to compare how a source scored there vs how Wikipedia treats them. The Daily Wire is rated as 34.41 and 14.43 for reliability and bias (positive bias = right, negative = left). What sources have similar scores (looking at absolute bias), Salon is 33.72, -18.08 so less reliable and more biased. New Republic is basically the same reliability but a bias of -18 vs 14.4. The Week is again about the same reliability but bias of 12. Vanity Fair is 36.15 and about the same bias. The Daily Beast and MSNBC are both about 2pts better in reliability and about the same for bias. None of this says Daily Wire is good but it does suggest our attempt to deprecate are overkill. These are all sites that fall into the "Analysis or High Variation in Reliability" bucket. Aquillion has listed a number of references but are they good? The first one I clicked on was a masters thesis [43]. Is that our standard now? This paper doesn't make a strong case for depreciation [44]. It basically says the DW criticized another news source for bias. If that was our standard then CNN would have to do away for their fixation on talking about "what Fox News just did". No question it isn't quality reporting but it's not the sort of thing that justifies depreciation nor is it something none of our acceptable sources would engage in. This one is an undergrad thesis [45]. The strongest material in here is a group that seems to repeatedly use the Daily Wire as part of their misinformation briefs but they don't provide examples of why the articles are wrong rather they are looking at web engagement. When the Daily Mail was deprecated, if I'm not mistaken, there were concrete examples of where they did something wrong. In the recent Rolling Stone discussion again there were clear examples of the source getting things wrong, refusing to correct etc. Here we have a lot of editor opinion (and undergrad opinions) but little in the way of true substance. Absent that true substance we shouldn't deprecate. Springee (talk) 18:34, 27 September 2021 (UTC)

The Oxford Internet Institute's Programme on Democracy & Technology does have a FAQ for what they consider "junk news". Very much a guess here, but it appears that their newsletter is based on their aggregator results, with the methodology possibly described in this preprint. However, I can't find any specific discussion of Daily Wire on the site. fiveby(zero) 14:58, 28 September 2021 (UTC)
Ooops, missed the listing in the preprint, Daily Wire is coded 'RB', 'S', 'Cr': "Right-wing bias", "Style", and "Credibility". fiveby(zero) 15:59, 28 September 2021 (UTC)
This is still a problematic source on several grounds. 1. This is a pre-print. Did this paper get published and where? 2. They don't provide evidence. That may not be important for what they are trying to do with the paper but it is important if we are going to deprecate a source based on their unsubstantiated claims. This is really the big problem with this whole discussion. The evidence used to deprecate is basically editor opinion or flaky mentions. Compare that to what was used to move Rolling Stone down in the recent RfC. In that case we had clear examples of problems and stories that were all but invented etc. The fact that academic sources think so little of DW is a good reason to keep them in the generally unreliable camp but not to deprecate them. Springee (talk) 16:19, 28 September 2021 (UTC)
Yeah, LIKEIT/DONTLIKEIT seems to often rule this noticeboard. Just taking a closer look at the strongest material in here. fiveby(zero) 16:52, 28 September 2021 (UTC)
Notification Given that there have been no objections voiced and multiple requests to include everyone who was involved in previous discussions, I'm going to ping all from those discussions I could find in the archives who have not yet voiced an opinion here. If you find someone who was not included, please feel free to ping them...I assure you it was an unintentional oversight (those who did not voice an opinion were not included...if you feel they should be included, please add them to the list):
@Sangdeboeuf, E.M.Gregory, Icewhiz, Titaniumman23, Patapsco913, Wumbolo, Lionel~enwiki, XavierItzm, Jayron32, Guy, MastCell, Valereee, Muboshgu, François Robere, Newslinger, MrX, GaɱingFørFuɲ, and Snooganssnoogans:
See #RfC: The Daily Wire Buffs (talk) 03:53, 20 October 2021 (UTC)
That's only a fraction of involved people. For example from the Ben Shapiro article alone I see editors added cites to Daily Wire here here here here. Maybe if they were informed they'd agree their edits should be reverted, but WP:RSN pro-deprecate campaigns don't inform them by pinging, they don't even put notices on relevant talk pages. Peter Gulutzan (talk) 15:18, 20 October 2021 (UTC)
I've only stumbled upon this RfC but there may be valid reasons why some users above weren't pinged before – E.M. Gregory was found guilty of sockpuppetry and banned, Icewhiz was TOU banned and Wumbolo is permanently blocked. A number of editors have also stopped editing Wikipedia regularly(User:Lionel~enwiki, User:Newslinger, User:MrX.) The original opener of the RfC may have seen this in their pages and activity log and decided to refrain from pinging them, extending WP:GF to them. BeReasonabl (talk) 06:21, 22 October 2021 (UTC)
@BeReasonabl: Appropriate non-canvassing notices were posted by the RfC nominator. I suspect the reason no one was individually pinged was probably because Buffs wanted to notify editors who participated in RSNs in 2018, 2019 and 2020, which is unrealistically far back in time. Also, pinging individual editors is frowned upon, which is why I pointed that out earlier and discouraged it. But now that he's done it anyway — though only part way, thus risking a charge of votestacking because, instead of notifying everyone, Buffs omitted several he felt "didn't express an opinion" — I will ping the omitted participants (those who are not-blocked and who have edited within the last month or so): Bahb the Illuminated (2018 RSN), Doug Weller (2019 RSN), Emir of Wikipedia (2018 RSN), FreeMediaKid! (2020 RSN), Narky Blert (2020 RSN), Neutrality (2018 RSN), and Robertgombos (2018 RSN). Apologies to anyone who doesn't want to get re-involved after several years have passed, but I felt I needed to complete the list. Evaluating previous participants and only notifying some would be exactly why VOTESTACKING was written in the first place, Buffs. Platonk (talk) 08:01, 22 October 2021 (UTC)
Since I was pinged, I decided to review The Daily Wire, using the New York Post, another source identified as generally unreliable, for comparison along the way. After briefly scanning their front pages and some of their articles, I have to admit that I did not find The Daily Wire to be as bad as I thought. Rather, it is roughly on par with the New York Post in terms of reliability, and the two do at least try to stay in contact with reality. That does not necessarily make either source highly useful, however. As was noted by the NPR, there is little original reporting by The Daily Wire. The two sources are definitely Foxier than Fox News, but not to the extent of InfoWars, although, while unimportant for this discussion, the vast majority of coverage on The Daily Wire seems to be solely about politics. Remarkably, its articles do cite sources, however imperfect, but that is where one should use those citations instead, and the lack of original reporting leads me to believe that we would not lose much to simply deprecate the source. FreeMediaKid$ 22:23, 22 October 2021 (UTC)
I think you just made the case for not deprecating. I agree that as a "generally not reliable source" we lose little in the way of good content by going the extra step to depreciation but why is that an argument for it? The Daily Mail was deprecated precisely because it was so widely used. That doesn't appear to be the case here. Additionally, your review suggests the source may actually be trying to improve. We can put that in terms of Wikipedia's own editor blocking policy. We block to protect Wikipedia, not to punish. If a generally unreliable source isn't widely used we aren't protecting Wikipedia by blocking it. Instead we would be, essentially punishing the source because editors don't like it. Anyway, deprecation should be a last resort, not a preemptive measure which seems to be how some editors would like to use it here. Springee (talk) 03:49, 23 October 2021 (UTC)
@Springee: Your logic leaves me shaking my head. First, I and a few others already removed most of the uses of dailywire.com from Wikipedia, which is why you don't see it broadly used. And editors keep adding DW citations in new ways, despite DW being labeled generally unreliable, which means constant patroling efforts. Second, FreeMediaKid! expressed "briefly scanning [DW's] front pages and some of their articles", which is hardly an evaluation from which anyone could conclude "[DW] may actually be trying to improve". Third, if DW hasn't sufficiently improved after RSNs spanning three years such that consensus says to finally blacklist it, "its" efforts to improve are irrelevant; we're not talking about a child who needs nurturing and guidance. The staff at DW aren't listening to a bunch of Wikipedia editors' opinions on their 'reliability'. Fourth, "punish" is something you do to a sentient being, not an inanimate thing; blacklisting a website isn't 'punishing' it, and you cannot correlate Wikipedia editor behavioral sanctions to reliable source policies. Well... that is unless... unless you have some super secret special plan up your sleeve to go over to DW offices and tell them authoritatively to get their reliability ducks in a row "OR ELSE!" we'll cut them off here at Wikipedia. Facepalm Facepalm Facepalm Facepalm Facepalm Facepalm! Platonk (talk) 07:09, 23 October 2021 (UTC)
The logic is sound. Your implication of some sort of super secret plan certainly has myself and likely others doing a facepalm. No one has shown that DW is used to the point of abuse or that generally unreliable just isn't enough. Deprecation should be a last resort, not just a "we don't like it" vote. Springee (talk) 10:55, 23 October 2021 (UTC)
If I had caused any confusion in how I reviewed the DW, I apologize. To be fair, I was rather graceful in my language, so let me rephrase the review. I evaluated that although it was not surreal like InfoWars or some other fringe website, it was not better than other generally unreliable sources like the NYPost either. I thus do not endorse the DW as a reliable or situational source due to its history of publishing false information as explained by other editors, nor do I consider it to be improving anytime soon. However, I did not explicitly rule out the possibility of using it to attribute the authors' opinions, but even then, I cannot understand how that would benefit us since other, better sources would likely both quote them and link to their pages. At least the NYPost has some use, even if it is still mostly useless. The point is that if someone can demonstrate that the DW is not outright useless, I may vote in favor of keeping the source as generally unreliable. FreeMediaKid$ 18:21, 23 October 2021 (UTC)
Injecting my reply to "Evaluating previous participants and only notifying some would be exactly why VOTESTACKING was written in the first place, Buffs". I asked for weeks for the OP to notify previous participants. I literally notified everyone who expressed a !vote, not just an opinion AND I specifically asked for anyone who feels I've missed someone to add them! To bitch about it after I've done my absolute best and accuse me of votestacking is completely WP:GASLIGHTING. At this point it's clear you aren't editing in good faith and you're only taking bits and pieces in order to malign my character. It's grossly WP:UNCIVIL. Buffs (talk) 01:02, 24 October 2021 (UTC)
No one notifies people from three years back; that was your idea, and your idea alone. Objections to your plan were expressed, but you didn't hear them and so you did it anyway. No one else pinged those people, because no one else thought it was an appropriate action. And no one should have had to wade through three years of discussions to figure out if you missed anyone. I waded, you missed, I called you on it. You omitted 30% of the participants! Did you expect a participation award for violating policy? It's not like you missed one or two who were hidden (like Doug Weller's comment was, because it wasn't signed.) I corrected your "absolute best" with a groan, considering I don't think you should have pinged anyone in the first place, and I wrestled with whether or not I should ping the omitted ones I identified — to potentially balance your error. I shouldn't have had to do the work to identify who you missed. Neither should anyone else. Platonk (talk) 03:16, 24 October 2021 (UTC)
Let's compare your remarks, shall we?
Objections to your plan were expressed, but you didn't hear them and so you did it anyway.
Really? I could have sworn you said the exact opposite. OH! It's because you did...
"If he/she omitted any by mistake...you were/are welcome to notify those other participants or threads yourself."
Then after I did it, you changed your opinion pretending you warned me all along not to do that and that it was a violation of WP:Canvass and WP:VOTESTACKing. Pretending you just had to notify all the people I "missed" is just your way of trying to belittle me and classify it as an error/point it out. You could just as easily said "I'm going to go ahead and ping those who didn't express a !vote too" and pinged 'em, but instead you used it as a platform to harangue me personally. I openly stated (those who did not voice an opinion were not included...if you feel they should be included, please add them to the list). I wasn't hiding anything and I explained my rationale and repeatedly explained why. I invited you to ping anyone else you felt should be part of the conversation. Those informed were about 11:9 for:against DW. For all practical purposes, it was a complete wash. When you throw out people who are banned, it was a net loss of !votes for DW. If you think this is a violation of canvassing guidelines, you're absolutely certifiable.
You think 2018-2020 is too far back? He didn't even notify people from a few weeks prior. Yes, I'd rather have a complete discussion. If you think more should be included, then I welcome it. But don't sit here and say that I'm doing something you warned against when you explicitly requested otherwise.
Canvassing and votestacking are done "with the intention of influencing the outcome of a discussion in a particular way". I haven't. I did so in a neutral/slightly biased against me manner. If you have evidence I've done that, present it at the appropriate boards. Otherwise, knock it off. Buffs (talk) 04:33, 26 October 2021 (UTC)
You're shuffling the timeline. The full quote: "The RfC nom did, actually. I direct you to WP:Canvassing. The RfC nom correctly used appropriate notification to notify participants in several other threads. If he/she omitted any by mistake (since you've buttered this topic all over Wikipedia, and who can keep track of it all), you were/are welcome to notify those other participants or threads yourself.". I thought you had been referring to recent topic participants, since you'd buttered the topic all over Wikipedia in the previous two weeks — not three years. By buttering all over I mean: my talk page, RfC nom's talk page, two other editors' talk pages, edit-war 'conversations' in edit summaries of several articles (1 2 3 4), lengthy discussions on an article talk page, two WP:ANI threads (1 2), and Wikipedia talk:Reliable sources/Perennial sources#Daily Wire. And all that was between September 15 and 27 (when this RSN was started). And those are just the ones I know about. All of those were related to your defense of dailywire.com citations and relevant to this RfC. At no time was I referring to three-year-old threads because I wasn't even aware of them until you mentioned them with links a day and a half later. You've cherry-picked sound bites and twisted the timeline to try to make some point. If you had put together a cogent argument that had events correctly placed chronologically, one could perhaps take those arguments seriously. As it is, one must discard them as contrived. Platonk (talk) 07:12, 26 October 2021 (UTC)
I'm not shuffling any timeline. These comments are completely in chronological order. I wasn't even aware of them until you mentioned them with links a day and a half later You repeatedly referred to WP:GUNREL across numerous discussions/condescending diatribes specifically referring to the Daily Wire entry. If you were really unaware of prior discussions, that's really your own ignorance because it was part of your rationale. Your transparent intent here is to introduce confusion, plead ignorance, and vilify me with heaping piles of unsubstantiated accusations. Now knock it off. Buffs (talk) 15:16, 26 October 2021 (UTC)

Call for close

I would like to respectfully suggest that this topic has long since passed the point at which it created more heat than light. I don't know that I see a consensus, but as I !voted, I'll leave that to others to judge. Still, for the good of all, I think it's time to close this survey. Cheers. Dumuzid (talk) 19:26, 11 October 2021 (UTC)

I concur that it's reached the going in circles stage. I asked at WP:RFCC for a close - David Gerard (talk) 21:23, 11 October 2021 (UTC)
I disagree. Multiple people have weighed in including 3 in the last 24 hours. The originator hasn't even pinged those in discussions who opposed his point of view. Buffs (talk) 03:15, 12 October 2021 (UTC)
With all due respect, your third sentence here is an example of why I think we have hit the "drama for drama's sake" phase of the proceedings. Reasonable minds may disagree. Cheers. Dumuzid (talk) 13:23, 14 October 2021 (UTC)
Doesn't sound very respectful. Dismissing my concerns as "drama" is not collegial. Buffs (talk) 15:48, 14 October 2021 (UTC)
Collegiality does not demand that you and I agree on everything, or indeed, anything at all. Cheers. Dumuzid (talk) 16:01, 14 October 2021 (UTC)
Collegiality means we can agree to disagree and discuss matters without belittling the opinions or sincerely held beliefs of others. I never said it required agreement. Buffs (talk) 04:14, 20 October 2021 (UTC)
Given the notification problem it's inappropriate to close now. Doug Weller talk 08:31, 22 October 2021 (UTC)
Hi Doug. A bit of context... There is no real notification problem. It's a straw man that has been debunked above by several editors, yet it keeps getting repeated by the objector. I placed notifications in the proper places, and those who were currently discussing the issue were notified or had the opportunity to see the notifications. We don't have a requirement or habit of going through the entire history of a subject and all archives for old discussions and then notifying all those people, so the notification objection is rather dubious and just an example of poisoning the well against me. (Consider the source of the objection and their history of adding links to TDW and stubbornly defending those links against the objections of multiple editors.) I did nothing wrong or unusual, and the repeated raising of this dubious objection is the real problem and a form of persistent and repeated personal attack. OTOH, now that more people have been notified, I have no objection to waiting a bit longer. -- Valjean (talk) 15:39, 22 October 2021 (UTC)
Oops, sorry Valjean. I agree with everything you say. It's a rare occasion when we should not just use the regular channels, and this isn't one of them. It was the new notification of editors that I was thinking of. But "longer" shouldn't be more than 2 or 3 days and if they all respond sooner, then. Doug Weller talk 16:44, 22 October 2021 (UTC)
I respectfully ask you keep this open until the end of October. I was not notified until someone pinged me about this, which was more than a week afterwards. I feel that the new pings who took the time out of their lives to comment but not know about this page should not be disadvantaged but rather catered towards. Thanks for your time. Titaniumman23 (talk) 06:55, 25 October 2021 (UTC)
  • Comment—(my second post in this thread & I was notified by the bot (picked at random))—No matter how reasonable an argument is, posting & replying again & again & again is burdensome. This is a discussion worth having because it is an edge case. The faults in The Daily Wire lie in its reframing of news material from sources that may be more or less reliable. The within the original organization, any reframing is under editorial control—the original reporters are there to check changes and discuss changes. Most news organizations have codes of ethics and conduct. When there is a disconnection, shit happens. The deprecation of TDW only means that citations should be made from the original publication (in the broad sense). And that is what should happen now, even without deprecation. Use the best sources; don't take the easy way out. What deprecation will do is to short-circuit some of the repetitive post post post we see here. For me, it makes no difference what we call it. Think of our common project. Use the best sources available. Save the endless back-and-forth in articles. Save editors time for productive work. — Neonorange (talk to Phil) (he, they) 18:51, 25 October 2021 (UTC)

It's been a month now, I don't see a need to keep delaying as one editor keeps thinking of new groups to notify outside general RFC notification convention - David Gerard (talk) 17:23, 26 October 2021 (UTC)

I mean, I only asked for them to be added for 3+ weeks. The argument that we should close it now that they've been finally added is absurd. "Keeps thinking of new groups"? You mean 2 groups of people in 24 hours? Boy...when will it ever end... Buffs (talk) 18:22, 26 October 2021 (UTC)
You are behaving as if out-of-process notifications are a good reason to delay; they are not - David Gerard (talk) 19:02, 26 October 2021 (UTC)
What's the urgency? There is no deadline (in general, and for RfCs specifically). I see both ayes and nays in the last few comments btw. Alaexis¿question? 19:12, 26 October 2021 (UTC)

Per WP:Requests for comment § Duration: An RfC should last until enough comment has been received that consensus is reached, or until it is apparent it won't be. There is no required minimum or maximum duration; however, Legobot assumes an RfC has been forgotten and automatically ends it (removes the rfc template) 30 days after it begins, to avoid a buildup of stale discussions cluttering the lists and wasting commenters' time. But editors should not wait for that: if one of the reasons listed above applies, someone should end it manually, as soon as it is clear the discussion has run its course. That's 4 hours from now. The discussion has run its course; there are a few stragglers, but not really much discussion going on. Two weeks ago, a few editors called for a close. I, for one, would like to see a close soon, and from a non-involved editor who is willing to wade through such a lengthy discussion and give an honest assessment of community consensus or non-consensus. If there is anyone participating in this thread who didn't WP:!VOTE, but meant to, they should consider marking their preferences soon. Platonk (talk) 00:37, 27 October 2021 (UTC)

The next sentence in WP:Requests for comment § Duration, which you haven't quoted, is: Conversely, whenever additional comments are still wanted after 30 days, someone should delay Legobot's automatic action.. Alaexis¿question? 05:54, 27 October 2021 (UTC)
The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

Disputing RFC close on Daily Wire

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.


S Marshall There's a super=majority to deprecate, with strong arguments. How on earth do you get from that that there isn't? You need to explain this - David Gerard (talk) 16:42, 27 October 2021 (UTC)

While I !voted for deprecation (and still think it appropriate), I tend to agree with S Marshall here--though there might be a super majority, I don't see what I would call "consensus." But reasonable minds may differ. Cheers. Dumuzid (talk) 16:46, 27 October 2021 (UTC)
I disagreed with Dumuzid but I concur with the user's above assessment: there is not a consensus to deprecate. Please keep in mind there is no clear definition for a "supermajority" and it isn't just counting !votes, but the quality of the arguments which are at least highly in dispute as to their quality. Consensus is not about a majority vote. Buffs (talk) 16:54, 27 October 2021 (UTC)
Eh, I'm with David Gerard here. An RfC is decided based on "rough consensus" which is notably *not* unanimity. (It's also not decided purely by !votes, so a supermajority is not necessarily relevant, but it is definitely a factor I'd consider if I was closing.) By a very quick and dirty count, I count 29 deprecate votes to 19 no votes, with three abstainers. That sure sounds like enough for a "rough consensus" to me. (Obviously, since I voted to deprecate, I also think the arguments to deprecate are stronger, but I'm obviously not an unbiased observer there.) Loki (talk) 17:21, 27 October 2021 (UTC)
(edit conflict) I really don't think that dismissing the evidence that the Daily Wire is unreliable as accurate, but not germane is a good move, considering the standard for deprecating a source is that it almost always falls below Wikipedia's standards of reliability. Arguably, *only* evidence as to whether the DW is unreliable is germane. Loki (talk) 17:37, 27 October 2021 (UTC)
It was legitimate to evaluate my contribution as "do not deprecate". Peter Gulutzan (talk) 17:39, 27 October 2021 (UTC)
  1. Buffs has a history of adding/defending The Daily Wire as a source in several articles, and even strongly defending their removal by Platonk and other editors. Strong defense of generally unreliable sources is problematic. All editors should seek to diminish, not defend or increase, the usage of such sources, which should be extremely limited and rare, and edit warring is never the right way to defend a source, yet that's what happened/happens.
  2. Then, on September 26, 2021, they tried to completely delete the entry at RS/P without ANY discussion on the talk page. That content had been there since February 8, 2020 (about 20 months!). Only after meeting strong resistance did they start a discussion.
  3. That discussion did not provide any support for them changing the entry, and in fact was so strongly negative that I saw it as evidence that deprecation might be best, so I started this RfC. If being classified as generally unreliable (caution sign) isn't enough to prevent editors from adding and defending the use of TDW as a source, then we need to protect Wikipedia from such attempts, and deprecation (stop sign) is the next step toward achieving that end. That move is evidently necessary. Just see what's happening.
  4. Now, immediately after you closed this RfC, they still try to whitewash it. This RfC hasn't taught them anything, so either we deprecate it or a topic ban is needed.
I understand your view that the !vote count "falls slightly short of an actionable consensus", but, even if that view were legitimate (and I have my doubts), we can see that current actions to defend TDW show an urgent need to tip the scales in favor of actual deprecation. We need deprecation to prevent more disruption. This is not punitive, but to protect Wikipedia from tendentious attempts to defend unreliable sources, and a caution sign is quite evidently not enough. We need a full stop sign or a topic ban. -- Valjean (talk) 16:17, 30 October 2021 (UTC)
  • Whether or not we need it, imv we don't have consensus for it at the moment. I'm not minded to self-overturn here. However, you are welcome to bring it to the Administrator's Noticeboard where closes are reviewed.—S Marshall T/C 16:54, 30 October 2021 (UTC)

I find the weighted outcome here to be arbitrary in how it assigns value to comments (somebody making a new but non-policy compliant argument is given extra weight????) and unsupported by any reading of WP:CON. nableezy - 22:02, 30 October 2021 (UTC)

I missed the ping before the deadline, but I see the horse is being beaten further here. Daily Wire is clearly partisan, and less than reliable, but not to the point of full depreciation. They are much better used as a source for other news articles- the Daily Wire is pretty fastidious about that particular bit. But on the rare occasion they do their own original or derivative work that should be allowed inclusion directly. Probably not for use on B:LP but otherwise, don't depreciate it. Just an opinionBahb the Illuminated (talk) 01:19, 31 October 2021 (UTC)

Request for admin close, preferably multiple admin close, posted at Wikipedia:Administrators' noticeboard#Admin_close_needed_on_deprecation_RFC_at_WP:RSN - David Gerard (talk) 11:02, 31 October 2021 (UTC)

There is a big difference between what RS do when they make a correction and what TDW does. TDW has a de facto position of denying the scientific consensus on climate change (and several other topics) because that is their position, and they will always shade their wording to deny or undermine that consensus. They are thus ALWAYS an unreliable source for that topic, as well as some others where their bias is so strong that they deny or undermine facts. This is what happens when sources are extremely biased; their bias gets in the way of accurately reporting the facts. They do not believe the facts.
TDW's track record reveals that lack of fact-checking isn't the real problem, but deliberate opposition to the facts is the problem, and then they dare to write their misleading opinions as facts. Later corrections, always because they've been called out, are just smoke and mirrors as they will do it again. They don't learn from that experience because learning the facts and then applying them to their editorial decisions is not their modus operandi. They believe and push disinformation, usually in harmony with Trump's positions. -- Valjean (talk) 15:55, 2 November 2021 (UTC)
The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

Reliability of The Canadian Encyclopedia

thecanadianencyclopedia.ca HTTPS links HTTP links

I routinely cite The Canadian Encyclopedia for claims about Canadian topics, but recently I've become concerned that its editorial policies are not the strongest. For instance, its article on Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory is written by a freelance writer and journalist, not a historian. They invite contributions from (it seems) pretty much anyone. There are several editors but I can't find an editorial policy listed. At one point, the encyclopedia was published in book form by reputable publishers including McClelland & Stewart (see the various editions available on the Internet Archive), but these days that's not the case. I am not proposing a formal RfC, just trying to get a sense of RSNers views. AleatoryPonderings (???) (!!!) 17:01, 5 November 2021 (UTC)

To be fair, that call for contributions does specify that the encyclopedia is looking for "experts" and "experienced contributors", not "pretty much anyone". That said, I agree that the standards of the encyclopedia have declined in recent years. Instant Comma (talk) 17:05, 5 November 2021 (UTC)
I don't know that standards ... have declined. Have there been any actual errors noted, and if so, how has the Encyclopedia reacted (if at all)? That might tell us more about standards than WP editors' evaluation of CE writers' CVs. Newimpartial (talk) 17:37, 5 November 2021 (UTC)
JSTOR 30303104 (from 1989) lists a bunch of errors about Nova Scotia content but this was well before it started being published online (obviously). AleatoryPonderings (???) (!!!) 17:50, 5 November 2021 (UTC)
One example: The Royal Canadian Mint does not produce banknotes: [46]. Instant Comma (talk) 17:59, 5 November 2021 (UTC)
I don't think the Canadian Encyclopedia is of a not-so-stellar quality, and it's in general a reliable source. I will note that a lot actually depends on who writes the specific entry. The one referred to here has actually too little written on its author. There are entries which are written by professional historians, such as this one by Gaston Deschênes, but as for this article on Maurice Duplessis is written by Conrad Black, who has indeed written a biography on Duplessis but whose biography is pretty much on the apologist side, though not that awful after all. It really depends on the entry, but I would presume it usable unless proven otherwise. Szmenderowiecki (talk) 18:08, 5 November 2021 (UTC)
I think that's bang-on and would note that entries are increasingly written by the encyclopedia's editors and not by experts in the field. Instant Comma (talk) 18:46, 5 November 2021 (UTC)

allthatsinteresting.com

I'm having another look over the Overtoun Bridge article, and I've been unable to find anything on the noticeboard about allthatsinteresting.com, as this post is cited as a source within the article.

First off - it states that at least 300(!) dogs have jumped off this one little bridge in Scotland, which seems like a ridiculous amount. It cites this New York Times article for this claim, but even that simply states that:

Local researchers estimate more than 300 have sailed off the bridge; tabloid reports say it's 600. At least 50 dogs are said to have died.

I'm assuming it's tabloid hookum. 'Are said to have', 'local researchers' and 'tabloid reports' doesn't fill me with confidence.

I'm pretty sure it's not a reliable source - on their 'about' page, this is part of the text:

Both history books and news reports aren't always framed with sensitivity to the many perspectives that inform the human experience. We seek to cut through entrenched narratives and see past pervasive biases in order to uncover the truth about the subjects we cover.

So, yknow, that seems like an invitation to literally writing whatever.

I think I'd be right in removing it, but I'd appreciate a more experienced look at it. Thanks! --Ineffablebookkeeper (talk) 12:19, 31 October 2021 (UTC)

Allthatsinteresting.com claims to have good editorial processes in place. That said, there has been a lot of coverage of Overtoun Bridge in legitimate news stories, which would seem to be preferable sources. For example, The Times (London) reported on June 26, 2015: “A Victorian bridge has been dubbed "Rovers' leap" after more than 600 dogs jumped from it on to rocky ground almost 60ft below. In the past 70 years, between 50 and 100 dogs have been killed after leaping off Overtoun Bridge in the village of Milton, West Dunbartonshire.” Let me know if you need a copy of the article. John M Baker (talk) 17:43, 2 November 2021 (UTC)
@John M Baker: - a copy of that article would be fantastic, thank you so much, though I'd be interested to know where they've sourced both the 600 dogs and 50-100 dogs in the past 70 years numbers from. I'll also have a good look to ensure I'm not playing into WP:CITOGENESIS, either, as it seems like it'd be liable for that pretty heavily. --Ineffablebookkeeper (talk) 18:19, 4 November 2021 (UTC)
"Per its "about All That's Interesting" message, the website is owned by a private company in Brooklyn, "tied to no external funders, political interests, or third-party commercial ventures". It may be aimed primarily at an American audience, and be Americentric in nature. Its articles are attributed to "freelancers from around the globe". No guarantees about their backgrounds or credentials. Dimadick (talk) 20:37, 2 November 2021 (UTC)
@Dimadick: - so, pretty much an anonymous quagmire. I'll have a look at that Times article to see where their numbers come from, but I think I'll remove allthatsinteresting as a source for now and leave a cn tag for me to replace later.--Ineffablebookkeeper (talk) 18:19, 4 November 2021 (UTC)
@Ineffablebookkeeper: I've sent you the Times article. Like many newspaper articles, it doesn't give a source for its numbers, so I guess it depends on how much weight you want to give to the Times' reliability. I would suggest including the numbers in the article and giving the Times as the source. John M Baker (talk) 22:15, 5 November 2021 (UTC)

Is filmdaily.co a reliable source?

I ask because there's a strong possibility that someone operating multiple accounts is being paid to keep the Donavon Warren article alive. That's a non-notable director who, as far as I can tell, acted in and directed one indie movie called Wheels in 2014. Recently, after I discovered this, the (suspected) paid editor added a handful of recent "articles" about Donavon Warren - very suspicious, as they're all from the last month, and none of them appear to be in an actual reliable source. Looking at filmdaily.co, I don't see any real articles, just a bunch of spam dressed up to look like a legitimate site. As for the multiple accounts, check out User:Binaza and notice that they almost exclusively edited articles that Ugochukwu75 is heavily involved in. Does anyone else see this? Fred Zepelin (talk) 21:12, 5 November 2021 (UTC)

Fred Zepelin, this discussion is probably better held at the COI noticeboard rather than at RSN. Seraphimblade Talk to me 00:57, 6 November 2021 (UTC)
I felt it even falls into WP:G4. --SVTCobra 02:16, 6 November 2021 (UTC)

The Latin Australian Times

This news source has been removed by a user https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Reliable_sources/Noticeboard/Archive_325#The_Latin_Australian_Times from all Wikipedia pages for no reason https://web.archive.org/web/20170216082414/http://latinaustralian.com.au/

The news paper is no longer in print but it used to be called Noticias Y Deportes it was the oldest Spanish newspaper in Australia, and distributed in all states in the country.

It was supported and sponsored by all 13 consulates and embassies of Spanish speaking countries in Australia and its journalists were renowned and award winning in Australia

This should not be discarded as a Wikipedia source specially since media in Australia is so limited. Lat was the only news source to cover https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mrs_Globe_Australia Australianblackbelt (talk) 19:38, 1 November 2021 (UTC)

These references were removed for being unreliable. The stories that were being linked to were purely community fluff pieces and not pieces of reliable journalism. I'm not making the claim that every piece of content from LAT may have been unreliable, but the ones that you had added to support statements on Wikipedia were all the usual community fluff pieces you see in local newspapers and specialist minor circulation papers. Nothing about them came across as reliable in any way, and much of the time didn't support the notability of the statements being claimed. Additionally most of them were being used to support references for articles subsequently deemed non-notable by the community and deleted through AfD channels. (and this is before we get into the fact that much of the references to it were scans uploaded to the personal website of an individual you have a COI with with no evidence of copyright permission.)
All that being said, if you wish to use it as a source for a statement, this noticeboard is better served by saying what it is you wish to source, and what the reference is that is supporting it. Generally saying it should be used isn't helpful here. If you wish to bring something to the community you wish to source and ask if the article in question can be reliably used to source that claim it would be more helpful. Canterbury Tail talk 21:05, 1 November 2021 (UTC)

The article in LAT about Sum Numg won an award why did tou have it removed from Sum Numg's wikipedia page? what do you know about circulation and spanish news papers? nothing period Australianblackbelt (talk) 21:25, 1 November 2021 (UTC)

My reasons were explained. And it's amazing how many of those fluff pieces were also written by people with connections to the people in the articles, like all the ones about or even marginally related to Maurice Novoa and written by his mother. Just goes to prove how they are not journalistic reliable sources. Canterbury Tail talk 22:39, 1 November 2021 (UTC)

You exaggerate so much that's how you convince people to take your side Maurice's mother only wrote one article connected to him and that was Mrs Globe Australia every other article referenced on Wikipedia was written by the editor Raquel Diaz. Australianblackbelt (talk) 23:00, 1 November 2021 (UTC)

Note for reference, I'm not the only one who has ever called the LAT into question for it's lack of journalistic qualities or import. Here's another thread where it is raised and where no answers around its notability and reliability were forthcoming. A question that has never been asked that I can find, what is your connection to A) these subjects and B) the LAT itself? Canterbury Tail talk 18:30, 2 November 2021 (UTC)
Like I've said in the past I knew Maurice Novoa from the Uruguayan social club, I am just a pensioner and I had nothing to do with the latin australian times. I know you have a vendetta against Novoa and even though there is sources on him that didn't make the afd because I was conveniently blocked you will never accept it till you die https://scontent-syd2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.6435-9/250994481_4444654728987230_7873012860185257027_n.jpg?_nc_cat=102&ccb=1-5&_nc_sid=e3f864&_nc_ohc=OMbPfXhdEFAAX8hXvKH&_nc_ht=scontent-syd2-1.xx&oh=62767b53d14706c391286b859f9e403d&oe=61A68307 This is a two page color centre fold in the El Español special Australia day edition, it's all about Maurice and is the countries longest running Spanish news paper]] If you could read a word of Spanish you would read that one of Maurice's PR jobs has a former Australian prime minister as a guest. Maurice is famous in the small latino community in Australia, he has even been in newspapers in Uruguay as far back as 2001. He also appeared around 2003 in many print publications in Indonesia. Australianblackbelt (talk) 20:00, 4 November 2021 (UTC)
You have never been blocked from anything on Wikipedia, your block log is completely clean and no one has prevented you from posting anywhere. You were notified of the AfD you are referring to above, you were active editing while the AfD was running. No one prevented you from participating. And I have zero vendetta against anyone or anything. I will just, like all good Wikipedia editors, remove non-notable promotional material from the project.
Anyway the purposes of this thread should be for you to propose using something in the LAT to support something on Wikipedia. Don't focus on other users, don't talk about how some people should be notable. This is the Reliable Sources noticeboard. If you notice no one else is responding, this is due to the fact that you haven't made any proposal on how to use the LAT as a supporting reference for an article. Please follow the instructions at the top of the edit window and you will be more likely to get a response. What is the source, what is the article, what is the statement that you wish to use it to support. Thank you. Canterbury Tail talk 20:17, 4 November 2021 (UTC)
Then I propose that the LAT story on Sum Nung be reinstated on that page because I was an award winning article and picked up by other outlets overseas. Australianblackbelt (talk) 02:51, 6 November 2021 (UTC)

Need to know the reputation of a publishing outfit.

What is the reputation of Edizioni Ca' Foscari-Digital publishing - Is it a Reputable publisher? A self-publisher? Other? Blueboar (talk) 16:57, 6 November 2021 (UTC)

UCL Press

UCL Press isn't a vanity press, right? It's entirely open access, which gives me some pause. Appears to be run by University College London and surely UCL would sue UCL Press if the press weren't actually affiliated with it. Lots of its pubs are indexed on JSTOR, which seems a decent sign too. AleatoryPonderings (???) (!!!) 17:44, 24 October 2021 (UTC)

For context, doi:10.1629/uksg.257 is an article from UKSG which seems like it could be helpful. AleatoryPonderings (???) (!!!) 17:50, 24 October 2021 (UTC)
It's unusual for university presses to be open access (the source you link to claims that UCL Press is the first in the UK) but open access is not the same as vanity publishing, and I can't find any reason to believe that this is not a legitimate university press. There are even blog posts on the UCL website referring to UCL Press's books as "our" publications. Though I've never come across them before, unless there's good reason to believe otherwise I would assume that their works are legitimate scholarly publications... Caeciliusinhorto-public (talk) 14:22, 26 October 2021 (UTC)
It is indeed run by University College London. M.Bitton (talk) 17:44, 6 November 2021 (UTC)

Howard Blum

Some of his claims as covered on UFOs are labelled as dubious or false, as investigated by Phillip Klass[1], what would be the appropriate way to address this issue in the project blue book article? I don't know if those claims of his are false, but phillip klass has found some parts of the same book to be dubious or false. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Blue_Book#Post-Blue_Book_U.S.A.F._UFO_activities and as I have referenced in the talk page. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Project_Blue_Book#Blum's_comments_should_be_taken_with_a_pinch_of_salt_and_not_at_face-valueChantern15 (talk) 22:05, 6 November 2021 (UTC)chantern15

Modern secondary sources along with primary source from Raj Era

Dispute on sources on Srivastava

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:MobileDiff/1054030775

Other sources:

Christian [4]

Shukla [5]

References

  1. ^ OHanlon, Rosalind (2014). "Discourses of caste over the longue durée: Gopīnātha and social classification in India, ca. 1400–1900". South Asian History and Culture. 6. Oxford University: 102 to 129. doi:10.1080/19472498.2014.969013. On the 18th of October 1779, an assembly of learned Brahman in Banaras despatched a lengthy Sanskrit letter of ...
  2. ^ Milton Israel and N.K.Wagle, ed. (1987). Religion and Society in Maharashtra. Center for South Asian Studies, University of Toronto, Canada. p. 173. The Shankaracharya's letter contains three documents which he produces verbatim, two from Banares Brahmins(1779, 1801)..
  3. ^ Gupte, TV (1904). "Appendix I.(page 7) Translation of the letter addressed by the Benaras Pandits to the Peshwa Darbar". Ethnographical notes on Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu. p. 8. Kayasthas are said to be of three sorts (kinds)— (1) the Chitragupta Kayasthas (2) Dhalbhaga Gatri Kshatriya Kayasthas and (3) Kayasthas of the mixed blood. The origin of Chitraguptavanshi Kayasthas is given in the Puranas. He was born from the body of Brahma while he was contemplating how he should know the good and evil acts of living beings. He was a brilliant person with pen and ink in his hands. He was known as Chitragupta and was placed near the God of death. He was appointed to record the good and evil acts of men. He was a Brahmin possessed of supra sensible knowledge. He was a god sharing the offerings at sacrifices. All the Brahmins offer him oblations of rice before taking their meals. He is called Kayastha because of his origin from the body of Brahma. Many descendants of his bearing different Gotras still exist on this earth. From this it will be seen that Kayastha Brahmins of Karhada and Khandesha are the Brahma-Kayasthas. Now about the origin of Chandraseniya Kshatriya Kayastha.....(last line) In short the will of God is all powerful Sunday, 8th Day of the white half of the Ashvin month of the year 1701(saka).
  4. ^ Christian Lee Noverzke (2016). The Qutodian revolution : Vernacularization, Religion, and the Premodern Public Sphere in India, part 2. Columbia University Press. p. 159. In the thirteenth century they might have been considered as equal to brahmin or simply within the Brahminic ecumene
  5. ^ Shukla, Indrajit (2016). Loka Shasak Maha Kal Chitragupta Tatha Cha Brahma Kayastha Gaud Brahmana (in Hindi). Gorakhpur: Sanatan Dharm Trust.

— Preceding unsigned comment added by Large swipe (talkcontribs) 17:26, 7 November 2021 (UTC)

If these sources are meant to support the statement "Several Brahmin assemblies and Shankaracharya considered them to be Kayastha Brahmin", I can see the following issues here:
  • O'Hanlon (2014). Reliable source, but how does the quote support the statement?
  • Israel & Wagle (1987). Dito.
  • Gupta (1904). No. See WP:RAJ and various RSN discussions about the wider subject of Raj sources and caste puffery.
  • Novetzke (2016). Reliable source, but again, no immediate connection to the article topic. Note that the quote above has been altered by the OP. The original text goes in full: "It appears that, in the thirteenth century, Kayasthas may have been considered either as equal to Brahmins or simply within the Brahminic ecumene, this despite the fact that modern-day Kayasthas in Maharashtra understand themselves to have arisen from the Kshatriya varna and are thus an intermediary caste between Brahmins and Kshatriyas." So the subject is not ambiguous "they", but "Kayasthas".
  • IMO, not passing WP:SCHOLARSHIP.
Austronesier (talk) 18:31, 7 November 2021 (UTC)

ऑस्ट्रोनेसियर If you go through the Gupte source you will see that it reproduces verbatim the letter of Banaras Brahmins in local as well as English translation. The date of this letter is 8th Day of the white half of the Ashvin month of the year 1701 of Saka era, which roughly translates to October 1779 of comman era. Those are not Gupte's opinion but the translations of the original letter of Banaras Brahmins based on their interpretation of Puranas.

The Oxford University source talks exclusively about this letter while Milton source mentions this letter and also mentions that Shankaracharya's decision also contains this letter along with others.

You may google the conversion of Saka Era dates into Common Era dates.

previous comment by Large swipe (talk

I agree with User:Austronesier. The text disputed on the page is "Several Brahmin assemblies and Shankaracharya considered them to be Kayastha Brahmin. i.e. this edit

O'Hanlon (2014). Reliable but does not support Srivastava as being Kayastha Brahmin.

Israel & Wagle (1987). Reliable but does not support Srivastava as being Kayastha Brahmin.

Novetzke (2016). Reliable but does not support Srivastava as being Kayastha Brahmin.

Gupta (1904). Raj era source hence not reliable.

Shukla(2016): It is in Hindi and you have not provided any page number or English translation of the quote from the book discussing the letter. Is it WP:HSC?

Large swipe , can you provide more information on the last source(Shukla)? In addition to it not being in English, the link is also not accessible nor have you provided any page number or an english translation of any quote. The publication is not academic.

LukeEmily (talk) 21:52, 7 November 2021 (UTC)

NICAP And other non-government UFO research organizations

In some articles I have seen references leading to NICAP (don't remember the exact article) , in other articles I've heard from fellow editors (such as the talk page for "UFO sightings in the United States") that it cannot be used, can NICAP be used as a source, and I would like clarity about other UFO research organizations, such as MUFON, CUFOS (the stonehenge incident), etc.Chantern15 (talk) 10:31, 4 November 2021 (UTC)chantern15

for what it claims, maybe. As a source of fact no.Slatersteven (talk) 10:43, 4 November 2021 (UTC)
If the organization itself is notable enough to be mentioned in a Wikipedia article (i.e. coverage is not WP:UNDUE), then perhaps one would reference their own writings as direct quotes or attributed examples of what they themselves have said, but such sources should never be used to cite material in Wikipedia's voice, uncritically. --Jayron32 10:45, 4 November 2021 (UTC)
So, one can include these sources, just in a neutral manner?Chantern15 (talk) 10:49, 4 November 2021 (UTC)chantern15
No, one would ONLY include the sources for direct quotes or paraphrases of such quotes by the organization (or similar) and ONLY if it was necessary for the article, for example in an article about the organization itself, it may be useful to use the organizations own words (or a paraphrase thereof) to understand the organization better; in those cases you can cite it. What you should never do with such sources is to use them as you would use an actual reliable source, and NEVER use it to cite statements in Wikipedias voice where it makes it look like there is widespread acceptance that what they say is true. Insofar as the false things they say are well reported false things, it may be useful to go to the source, but if they are 1) not well known false things or 2) being used uncritically in Wikipedia, you should NOT cite them that way. --Jayron32 11:59, 4 November 2021 (UTC)
The above, they can be used for their views, as long as they are attributed. They can not be used for anything else.Slatersteven (talk) 12:07, 4 November 2021 (UTC)
No. Please read WP:FRIND and WP:GEVAL. JoJo Anthrax (talk) 18:07, 4 November 2021 (UTC)
Well, what about the articles which use info from such websites to describe UFO incidents?Chantern15 (talk) 19:15, 4 November 2021 (UTC)chantern15
Nothing in an article should take info from such websites as information. At most, we may report that "such-and-such a publication claimed this-and-that was reported to so-and-so" but we should never use their reports as sources for actual statements of fact. --Orange Mike | Talk 20:54, 4 November 2021 (UTC)
That may be, but there are articles on Wikipedia which do use these as sources.Chantern15 (talk) 22:02, 6 November 2021 (UTC)chantern15
I'd like clear guidance on this, please.Chantern15 (talk) 00:52, 8 November 2021 (UTC)chantern15
Clear guidance: don't use 'non-government UFO research organizations' as sources for statements of fact in Wikipedia articles. They aren't compliant with Wikipedia:Reliable sources criteria. None of them. AndyTheGrump (talk) 01:28, 8 November 2021 (UTC)
And what is to be done with all the articles who do use these as sources?Chantern15 (talk) 01:37, 8 November 2021 (UTC)chantern15
They should be edited to comply with policy. Which articles in particular are you referring to? AndyTheGrump (talk) 01:41, 8 November 2021 (UTC)
Felix Moncla, The Stonehenge Incidents, Ellsworth UFO sighting and others.Chantern15 (talk) 02:22, 8 November 2021 (UTC)chantern15
The Felix Moncla article cites several sources which don't comply with policy. Much of the article doesn't appear to be sourced at all. It needs reducing to whatever can be stated directly from reliable sources. As for 'The Stonehenge Incidents', what exactly are you referring to? If it is the section in the Stonehenge (building) article, that seems to cite several sources, but NICAP isn't among them. And it makes it quite clear that these are claims regarding an alleged UFO, not statements of fact. The Ellsworth UFO sighting] article is a total trainwreck, citing as its only source Robert Emenegger's mass-market book for the overly-credulous UFOs: Past, Present, and Future. Emenegger was also responsible for a 'documentary' of the same name. I shall look into this, and most likely nominate it for deletion, if proper sources cannot be found. Meanwhile, per WP:LINKSTOAVOID I shall be removing the links to NICAP (and ufocasebook.com) from the 'external links' section. AndyTheGrump (talk) 03:38, 8 November 2021 (UTC)
That's good work on your part, but there must be more articles such as this, which I am not an expert on, this will be a long and slow process of clean-up.Chantern15 (talk) 08:50, 8 November 2021 (UTC)chantern15

Dr. John Campbell's Youtube channel

1. Source: Campbell's Youtube page

2. Article: Ivermectin

3. Content: The views of Dr. Campbell on the efficacy and safety of Ivermectin, as expressed in a series of videos dedicated to that subject: ivermectin001, ivermectin002, ivermectin003, ivermectin004, ivermectin005, ivermectin006, ivermectin007, ivermectin008, ivermectin009, ivermectin010, ivermectin011, ivermectin012, ivermectin013, ivermectin014, ivermectin015, ivermectin016, ivermectin017, ivermectin018, ivermectin019, and ivermectin020


Discuss the general reliability of this source, including Dr. Campbell's credentials, the self-published character of his Youtube channel, and whether we can use in wikivoice or with attribution any of his content. Forich (talk) 20:59, 28 October 2021 (UTC)

Is there an article about this guy? Because legitimate scientists publish articles, they don't post YouTube videos. --Orange Mike | Talk 21:06, 28 October 2021 (UTC)
They may do both, but good point, moreover, written sources are better for WP:V. There are exceptions of course, Skeptoid has sometimes been used to apply WP:PARITY and a transcript is generally available. Still, it would be unacceptable as a source for biomedical claims (not WP:MEDRS). —PaleoNeonate – 21:16, 28 October 2021 (UTC)
They seem WP:PROFRINGE. Hemiauchenia (talk) 23:01, 28 October 2021 (UTC)

Boobpedia

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.


As seen here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Nuts_Magazine_models and here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lacey_Banghard, is Boobpedia a reliable source for information on women listed on that site to be referenced here on Wikipedia?Chantern15 (talk) 10:40, 4 November 2021 (UTC)chantern15

"Boobpedia is a free and user-edited encyclopedia of women with big boobs.", its a wiki, so no.Slatersteven (talk) 10:41, 4 November 2021 (UTC)
So is this going to be deprecated as a source?Chantern15 (talk) 10:47, 4 November 2021 (UTC)chantern15
Doesn't need to be - an editor should be able to say "yeah, that's a wiki, probably not a good source for Wikipedia" - David Gerard (talk) 11:15, 4 November 2021 (UTC)
I've asked on the articles' respective talk pages, whether this source should be removed.Chantern15 (talk) 11:29, 4 November 2021 (UTC)chantern15
It absolutely should be. You don't need permission to make Wikipedia better. You can just remove it yourself. See WP:BOLD for more information. --Jayron32 11:55, 4 November 2021 (UTC)
It's already unacceptable according to WP:UGC. It doesn't need to be specifically addressed. clpo13(talk) 18:50, 4 November 2021 (UTC)

List em here and I will remove this tripe.Slatersteven (talk) 12:06, 4 November 2021 (UTC)

As far as I can tell, there are no more uses of the source in articles. Here's a search in case more pop up: [48] Firefangledfeathers (talk) 15:30, 4 November 2021 (UTC)
If it ever becomes a popular reference site like IMDB, I can see it being used in the 'external links' section of certain articles. But as a source? No way. ~Anachronist (talk) 18:46, 4 November 2021 (UTC)
Well, I didn't want to make changes which could be immediately reverted, so I thought it best to start a conversation on the talk pages.Chantern15 (talk) 19:17, 4 November 2021 (UTC)chantern15
The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

livelaw.in

With reference to this section in this article: [1], what is the reliability of the website "livelaw.in" (reference 24)?Chantern15 (talk) 21:36, 7 November 2021 (UTC)chantern15

Thanks, sounds great!Chantern15 (talk) 00:05, 9 November 2021 (UTC)chantern15

RfC: The Ronin

Which of the following best describes the reliability of The Ronin?

This source from IGN writer Christopher Marc has been previously discussed at my talk page. One editor sites a claim that the source cannot be used because it is run by one person. On my talk page, others say it can be used because Marc has connections to the industry from his work for IGN. I also believe the source is reliable because most of his reports have proven true across several film and television topics. So, I am looking for a consensus. Some Dude From North Carolina (talk) 00:45, 5 October 2021 (UTC)

Anthony Fantano aka TheNeedleDrop should be allowed as a source for music review scores

Fantano is one of the most popular music reviewers of this generation and his opinions are almost always well explained and formulated in his reviews. People respect his opinions and at this point he needs to be included on Wikipedia for albums he reviews. His review style is well thought out, structured and phrased. Yes he’s not part of the traditional media and doesn’t technically have an editorial oversight group but he does script his videos before he makes them and he has an editor too so that could be seen as some sort of oversight. His reviews are exactly what a review should be, his honest opinion. To exclude him from being allowed in the reviewer section of Wikipedia articles completely ignored the fact that he has his own unique style and just because it’s different doesn’t mean it’s worse is invalid in the music review landscape. His reviews are also his alone, so unlike publications that have multiple different reviewers of varying quality and taste his reviews are consistent with his opinions and don’t fluctuate as much. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.55.45.7 (talk • contribs)

Major concern about a Haaretz article

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

Hello fellow editors. I'm coming to you with an unusual matter, something that necessitates your attention. There is an ongoing controversy[49] about the reliability of the article written by one of the Haaretz journalists but based on the account of the banned Wikipedian, where Icewhiz (banned Wikipedian) states that inaccuracy in our article was written deliberately as a hoax. That claim has never been proven. An important thing to keep in mind is that the mentioned Wikipedian (Icewhiz) was banned from editing by ArbCom (among other things) for making the same claims.[50],[51] Here is the link to the Haaretz article itself[52] and here is the description of the circumstances.[53] I especially would like to gather the viewpoints of uninvolved editors on the matter. Should we consider the story of banned Wikipedian as WP:RS? Thank you so much. GizzyCatBella🍁 05:28, 9 November 2021 (UTC)

It would seem the ongoing RfC is the place for discussion: Talk:Warsaw concentration camp#RfC: Haaretz article on errors in WP article about the Warsaw concentration camp. Alexbrn (talk) 07:31, 9 November 2021 (UTC)
Yes, please provide your helpful opinions there. Thank you. - GizzyCatBella🍁 07:46, 9 November 2021 (UTC)
Oh, one more critical thing. There are ACTIVE ARBITRATION REMEDIES regarding the topic area the source in question rests. --> Please see [54] GizzyCatBella🍁 08:06, 9 November 2021 (UTC)
I must say I think Haaretz is bad source with very strong agenda and in general shouldn't be used at all in Wikipedia but as my views is minority and it does considered WP:RS by community we must assume the information in the article is the same quality and have same editorial control as other articles for example regarding I/P conflict so what good for the goose is good for the gander. Shrike (talk) 09:25, 9 November 2021 (UTC)
I'd rather you included a neutral statement (i.e.: there is an RfC about the reliability of the source X in the context Y. Your input is welcome). I don't think we need any more agitation in other areas as well, and neither should we spill the RfC to other noticeboards as well.
@Shrike: I'll be grateful if you'll paste your comment to the relevant RfC section.
Other editors: please comment in the RfC, not here. Szmenderowiecki (talk) 13:09, 9 November 2021 (UTC)
I'll add that I was interviewed for this piece, misquoted, and Haaretz refused to publish my corrections (you can see my letter to Haaretz here). I used to consider Haaretz a reliable source, but based on my first hand experience with how they based a story on information from an editor who got himself banned for major disruption, and how they refused to issue a correction, I am not impressed, to say the least. Worse, earlier this year (Jan/Feb IIRC) the same journalist did a large interview with me promising to follow up on this, also promising to reach out to his editor and ask them about printing my correction - and then as soon as the interview as done, stopped replying to me, with the promised interview/podcast/correction/whatever never materializing. But over the summer they published a new article about Wikipedia [55], which while I think quite interesting, in one place veers back to repeating Icewhiz's claims, despite the fact that I tried to correct them twice, something that the author of that piece knows well. I send them an email with corrections, which again has been totally ignored. Overall, I think this calls for a re-examining of Haaretz as a RS, as Shrike suggests, because it seems that their editorial controls / fact checking / sources are quite problematic. Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus| reply here 17:19, 9 November 2021 (UTC)
I think your experience of being misquoted is something that is common of newspapers generally, and is far from being unique to Haaretz, unfortunately. I have heard many similar things from experts about being misquoted in documentaries. Hemiauchenia (talk) 17:34, 9 November 2021 (UTC)

It might be best if we had one discussion, in one place about this.Slatersteven (talk) 17:44, 9 November 2021 (UTC)

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

The Houston Chronicle

Boldly closing this. There is no dispute as to the Houston Chronicle's reliability. Mackensen (talk) 21:52, 9 November 2021 (UTC)

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

The Houston Chronicle is the largest newspaper in Houston, Texas, and the 14th most distributed print newspaper in the United States as of the first quarter of 2021. Currently, there are 1,045 external links to the Houston Chronicle on Wikipedia.

Which of the following best describes the reliability of the Houston Chronicle?

Pilaz (talk) 19:33, 9 November 2021 (UTC)

@Pilaz: why are you bringing this newspaper of record here? Doug Weller talk 20:09, 9 November 2021 (UTC)

@Doug Weller: It is featured prominently in Astroworld Festival crowd crush which is currently in the main page, and it has not been the subject of previous discussion on this noticeboard. It is also missing from the list of perennial sources. The idea is to assess its reliability given its prominence on English Wikipedia. Should I have started an RfC instead? Pilaz (talk) 20:15, 9 November 2021 (UTC)
If there's no reason to think it's unreliable, or any objections to it's use as a source, it doesn't need to be brought up here at all. ScottishFinnishRadish (talk) 20:18, 9 November 2021 (UTC)
@ScottishFinnishRadish: Unless I've missed any rule for posting on this board, that's simply your opinion. To the contrary, I think it's important to discuss the reliability of this source regardless. We've had discussions about the reliability of other "newspapers of record" in the past and cemented their status as RS in Wikipedia. I will open a discussion section below unless you think editors should judge the reliability of this source elsewhere. Pilaz (talk) 20:56, 9 November 2021 (UTC)
I second ScottishFinnishRadish's analysis here. I hope you can understand the issue with every RSN question jumping right to 4 option pseudo-RfC. If anybody challenges the Chronicle's reliability, a good first step would be a post here with just, "I want to use the Chronicle for X claim. Is it reliable for that?"
Some of the prior discussion of national newspapers of record was needed to update Template:Find sources, and even that was met with much pushback from the RSN community. Firefangledfeathers (talk) 20:59, 9 November 2021 (UTC)
I understand the format concerns, but I don't understand why we can't assess the reliability of the Chronicle without a dispute between two users. In particular, in the period 2014-2018, there was a significant blow to its reliability when a journalist was found to have fabricated 44% of his quotes in the span of 4 years, with 8 stories retracted and 64 other stories corrected. Would that be a valid rationale for maintaining this discussion open, to discuss the reliability of the Chronicle between 2014 and 2018 (and beyond)? Pilaz (talk) 21:32, 9 November 2021 (UTC)
The benefit to the project is that the noticeboard can focus more collective effort on disputes that couldn't be resolved with local consensus. Firefangledfeathers (talk) 21:42, 9 November 2021 (UTC)
The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

The Black Vault Website

Considering the large amounts of documents given to this website through FOIA requests by John Greenewald, it can be great resource to Wikipedia for not just Fringe topics, but also topics which involved a lot of government secrecy. Does it count as a primary source or as a secondary source (as it uploads all of those documents on its servers). If it's primary, what are the special circumstances where these sources can be used?Chantern15 (talk) 14:25, 9 November 2021 (UTC)chantern15

Not remotely a reliable site, not even as a mirror of primary sources. We have no way to verify that the documents haven't been altered or originated where Greenewald says they came from. MrOllie (talk) 14:30, 9 November 2021 (UTC)
Well, what about the insignias, the stamps and the signatures, it would be like saying that Greenewald doctored 4 million pages, that seems a bit far-fetched doesn't it?Chantern15 (talk) 14:46, 9 November 2021 (UTC)chantern15
It is amazing what one can do with Photoshop these days. MrOllie (talk) 14:48, 9 November 2021 (UTC)
That's awfully cynical.Chantern15 (talk) 14:56, 9 November 2021 (UTC)chantern15
If the alternative is to take the word of someone who's best journalism credential is a producer credit on the history channel's UFO Files, then yes, I am a cynic. MrOllie (talk) 15:02, 9 November 2021 (UTC)
Okay.Chantern15 (talk) 15:05, 9 November 2021 (UTC)chantern15
Black Vault unquestionably fails WP:V. "But what about..." counter-arguments do not override that fact. JoJo Anthrax (talk) 15:41, 9 November 2021 (UTC)
The website seems to have been used as a source in several articles. [56] This probably needs looking into. AndyTheGrump (talk) 18:21, 9 November 2021 (UTC)
Not a reliable source, it might be a great resource for OR but its pretty much worthless to us for legitimate purposes. Horse Eye's Back (talk) 20:07, 9 November 2021 (UTC)
So it is.Chantern15 (talk) 01:50, 10 November 2021 (UTC)chantern15

Models.com for 1) interviews and 2) ranking lists

Hi, I was reviewing Template:Did you know nominations/Hyun Ji Shin and came across Models.com used as a source. The website is currently cited in 951 articles: see 1 HTTPS links HTTP links. The previous RSN discussion concerned the website's usability as a source for magazine covers with the consensus being that it is preferable to cite the original magazine directly. For the Hyun Ji Shin article, is this interview reliable as a source? What about these two "Top Models" lists? I think the interview should be reliable enough given that it looks professionally written and edited, but I am quite iffy on whether the "Top 50" and "Top Newcomer" lists are reliable/significant for inclusion. feminist (+) 14:32, 9 November 2021 (UTC)

As is common among many people who come here, you're confusing "reliability" with "worth mentioning". Reliability means "is this source useful for verifying that Wikipedia text is correct". That's all. For things like "appeared on a top-ten list", the top-ten list itself is perfectly reliable for verifying that the person so named did appear on the list. The real question you should be asking is "Are the people who published this list of a high-enough recognizability that the appearance on the list is worth mentioning." That's a matter for WP:UNDUE-type discussions. It's not about reliability (do I trust the source), rather it's "is the source well-recognized enough that their opinion matters. All opinions, directly cited to the person who gave the opinion, are basically reliably sourced. The issue of "Why should I care about this person's opinion" is not a matter for this board. The issue of interviews is similar... There is the reliability issue of "do we believe the source in question made up the interview", but if not, then interviews where we believe the person in question really did say the things they said in the interview are reliable for quoting the person directly (though may or may not be useful for verifying the truth status of what they said, merely that they said it. --Jayron32 15:03, 9 November 2021 (UTC)
I do understand the difference between significance and reliability; my question is still valid. The reliability of a source does affect the source's standing under WP:RSOPINION and hence the reliability of their opinion pieces. Rankings of models compiled by models.com are opinion pieces by the Wikipedia definition and hence the reliability of the source affects whether their opinion should be cited in Wikipedia articles. We routinely reject the use of opinion pieces from popular but unreliable news sources such as Breitbart and the Daily Mail: the issue with these sources is not insignificance, but rather unreliability. feminist (+) 15:27, 9 November 2021 (UTC)
As noted in the link you provided "Some sources may be considered reliable for statements as to their author's opinion, but not for statements asserted as fact." When assessing the opinion of this source as to who THEY believe to be the top 10 models, do we have reason to believe they lied or altered the truth when reporting their own top 10 list? If not, then it is reliable. Whether the source is respected enough that the opinion matters is a different issue, but there is no reason to suspect they did not publish said list, and the person in question clearly appears on it. --Jayron32 16:26, 9 November 2021 (UTC)
Right, and my focus is on the latter: whether the source is respected enough that the opinion matters, and "respect" involves reliability. Plus, the issue of whether parts of this article where the author is introducing the interviewee are reliable as a secondary source. feminist (+) 02:05, 10 November 2021 (UTC)
Not necessarily. A politician may make a statement regarding a medical treatment. Their opinions on the medical treatment may be worth discussing in a Wikipedia article, but I would not consider that politician to be reliable in regards to the information on the medical treatment. "Reliability" and "has a noteworthy opinion" have nothing to do with each other. --Jayron32 12:03, 10 November 2021 (UTC)

WP:MEDRS: are primary sources completely banned?

I've received a notice about this edit following these edits. They're not exactly the same (the latest one added a supporting reference), but this was perceived as an editing war. Not willing to engage in that (which I realize is at least partly due to miscommunication on both sides), I would like to ask for opinions on whether the issue is so obvious because it doesn't appear that way to me. During the pandemic, primary sources were used to support information related to COVID-19 due to the lack of better quality sources. I've always been careful to use references from sources that WP:MEDRS considers trustworthy, so it seems to me that there is friction between the rules in WP:MEDRS and that deciding between informing and trusting the only available source (which is often primary regarding COVID-19) is not so clear. WP:MEDRS does not completely prohibit primary sources and appears to be written with the idea (which I agree with) that primary sources from core journals and major health agencies should be replaced by secondary and tertiary sources when they become available. Is this the right way to interpret WP:MEDRS? If primary sources are to be avoided under all circumstances, then I think WP:MEDRS must be rewritten to say so explicitly. --Fernando Trebien (talk) 15:33, 10 November 2021 (UTC)

In this one case, removal is probably in line with policy. Without trying to make any statement about greater implications, as policy notes "Primary sources should generally not be used for medical content – as such sources often include unreliable or preliminary information, for example early lab results which don't hold in later clinical trials." and later things like "early-stage research should not be cited to imply wide acceptance" and "Using small-scale, single studies makes for weak evidence, and allows for cherry picking of data. Studies cited or mentioned in Wikipedia should be put in context by using high-quality secondary sources rather than by using the primary sources. and many other places. For the one study in question linked here for convenience, this is a 35-person study. That seems to be the textbook definition of "early lab results" and "small-scale, single studies" and "early-stage research" that are all recommended against using as sources for Wikipedia articles. Science is a top-notch journal, and this is probably good research, but not as the sole source for the information you are trying to add. It may be useful later as a supplemental source alongside a more rigorous secondary source, but at this point Wikipedia is best to remain silent on the matter than trying to place too much emphasis one one single preliminary study. --Jayron32 15:47, 10 November 2021 (UTC)
Ok. But then, the fundamental issue is not that this is a primary source but that the study is small or too early in the research pipeline. The study was based on the data of a phase I clinical trial, so it can be considered nearly at that stage. Most articles on COVID-19 vaccines (including all major ones) have information about the results of these early trials, even when they were small studies. For consistency, this implies that such information should be removed from Wikipedia whenever such studies are small or when there is phase II-III data available. Is that correct? --Fernando Trebien (talk) 15:59, 10 November 2021 (UTC)
No, never take any statement on what should be done in one specific case (as I did above) as any indication on what you should do in other cases. I have not looked at any other situation in my assessment above. If you have another source you think is inappropriately used, start another discussion so it can be looked at in context. Also, don't make any decisions on what I stated above. Wait for a few days and let other people (many of whom know a lot more than I do) to comment. --Jayron32 16:07, 10 November 2021 (UTC)

Archontology.org

I came across archontology.org used as a reference on Queen of Trinidad and Tobago. A quick search of Wikipedia shows that it's used fairly often, but I couldn't figure out what makes it a reliable source. So I thought I'd bring it here to see if anyone knew more about it. Guettarda (talk) 16:29, 9 November 2021 (UTC)

I've never come across the site before, but the fact that there's a typo on the homepage ("Shumerian" for "Sumerian") doesn't give me much confidence. The about page seems to suggest that this is one person's project ("my primary interest", "my study began") but I can't find who that person is. It seems as though WP:SPS applies: as the author is anonymous, they aren't an identifiable subject-matter expert and therefore site is not generally reliable. Caeciliusinhorto (talk) 22:26, 9 November 2021 (UTC)
Yup, I looked at the website, and came to the same conclusion. WP:RS states that sources cited should have a "reputation for fact-checking and accuracy". I can't see how the author of an anonymous website can have a 'reputation' at all. Or at least, I can't think of any good reason to assume the website has one, without strong evidence. AndyTheGrump (talk) 10:20, 10 November 2021 (UTC)
And more particularly, WP:BLPSPS warns never to use a self-published source for contemporary biographical info. So it would seem this source is pretty much entirely useless for BLPs, and should never be used. On the other hand, some of the references it cites might be usefully consulted Alexbrn (talk) 10:28, 10 November 2021 (UTC)
I did a little exploring. I don't think it is the work of a single person. Juan Jorge Schäffer (deceased) seems to have been a noted contributor[57]. But more importantly, User:Oleg Schultz claims here to be the owner of the site. This, in turn, may lead to some questions about the Archontology article. --SVTCobra 10:58, 10 November 2021 (UTC)
Good catch! Looks like somebody has been very naughty. Have PROD'd it, but maybe it qualifies for some kind of speedy deletion ... Alexbrn (talk) 11:12, 10 November 2021 (UTC)
Thanks all! Guettarda (talk) 15:47, 10 November 2021 (UTC)
Yes, there's a list of other contributors here. But given that individual articles don't seem to be credited to particular contributors, there's no real way to know who contributed what – and at any rate those various contributors don't seem to meet the WP:SPS requirements as established subject-matter experts with a record of publications in high-quality reliable sources in the field. So for Wikipedia's purposes, unless Oleg Schultz can be shown to be a relevant subject-matter expert (a quick google does not suggest that this is true!) – and it can be proven that he actually is the maintainer of the site, it's still not reliable. Caeciliusinhorto (talk) 17:50, 10 November 2021 (UTC)

The Elephant Matthew Bryden Conviction of espionage

Fake Fight: The Quiet Jihadist Takeover of Somalia Is this source reliable for updating his profile to say he was convicted. Although it is authored by himself, as English language sources are preferred over foreign language sources, but there is also a Somalia language source which confirms that he was convicted. Should both sources be used, or just one or the other. Opinions please? [https://www.garoweonline.com/en/news/somalia/maxkamadda-g-banaadir-oo-xukun-ku-riday-matt-bryden Garowe online] Also, is the article in the Elephant a reliable source for other updates about Somali politics, as the author is clearly not too happy with the Somali government at the moment. Nevertheless, has the author mainted a neutral point of view in the article, or have his views been clouded by his own recemt expereinces? Opinions please? Amirah talk 12:43, 9 November 2021 (UTC)

AmirahBreen Is anyone disputing the fact of conviction? To be on the safe side we could mention it with attribution. Regarding this source in general, it seems legit: there is a board, people with Wikipedia articles about them write for it and it is supported by a few notable charitable foundations. Alaexis¿question? 19:43, 10 November 2021 (UTC)
No, there has been no dispute, but these are the only two sources I could find. I'll follow your advice, thank you. Amirah talk 19:51, 10 November 2021 (UTC)

Documents from ERIC

User:Guillermo Sanders maintains that there is no requirement that sources need to be peer-reviewed in order to be reliable. Specifically, this edit marks the fifth time that they introduced this PDF into SAT (their first time was this edit, [58], followed by three reverts: [59], [60], [61]). They're obviously edit-warring (against me and User:Nerd271), and I guess I'll file a separate report for that. But the matter at hand here is that they claim that "There is no such Wikipedia peer review requirement. And it was obviously peer reviewed by at least ERIC if not others as well", followed by some personal attacks.

That document claims to be by Ryan Carmichael, MBA, who works for "Bruin Financial Management". The paper contains no other identifying information, no evidence of having been published in some reliable outfit. What ERIC does, among others, is offer grey literature, and presumably that's where this is from--please note that the article on ERIC itself is highly promotional (this is a key edit by a likely COI editor) and does not claim that materials on its site are reviewed at all. In addition, of course, Sanders's edit is highly partisan: "The 2019 research points out that College Board spread the lie that the SAT is essentially uncoachable for several decades, only effectively admitting in 2017 that they had been spreading a lie all along." Such categorical statements ("points out...spread the lie") are improper in the first place.

But the question here is whether this paper should ever be cited at all. There is no indication it has undergone any kind of review, that it was ever published (being posted on ERIC is not "publishing"), or that this Ryan Carmichael is an expert. Look around and what you find is promotional blurbs like this--which is published on a PR outledt by Bruin Financial Management itself, which appears to be a one-man outfit run by Carmichael. I propose that this paper not be accepted as a reliable source, and that it not be cited at all. Drmies (talk) 15:08, 10 November 2021 (UTC)

Wikipedia articles should be based on secondary sources, and reliable sources are independent and from a publisher with a reputation for fact-checking and accuracy. I suppose the ERIC document is "reliable" purely for what it says, but not for assertions of fact, and in any case its inclusion would be undue. Why should Wikipedia pay attention to this document that the world has apparently ignored? (And, if the world has paid some attention to it in reputable sources, we could use those). Alexbrn (talk) 15:25, 10 November 2021 (UTC)
Agreed. That article has no business being cited and the editor's use of inflammatory language makes it even more unsuitable. Nerd271 (talk) 21:15, 10 November 2021 (UTC)