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Usage[edit]

This template is used in articles to indicate inline citations that link to sources which, due to their own bias or their reliance on quotes from biased parties, are insufficiently reliable sources. Placed after the source in question, it produces a superscripted notation like this:

Big Brother vanquished the Eurasian aeroplanes.^[1]^{[needs independent confirmation]}

References

1. "Enemy aeroplanes vanquished". Government of Oceania. 1984.

To do this, place the template outside the ref tags, like this:

<ref>[...body of reference...]</ref>((Needs independent confirmation))

You can also include a |reason= note, which displays as a tool tip upon mouse hover, to describe the issue to interested readers and to leave a record for future editors. For example, the following usage might be appropriate to the arguable claim that "Big Brother vanquished the Eurasian aeroplanes":

((Needs independent confirmation|reason=Citation is the Government of Oceania, which may not be entirely objective.|date=January 2024))

General template for copy-pasting:

((Needs independent confirmation|date=January 2024))

Adding this template to an article places the article into Category:All articles lacking reliable references or one of its dated subcategories, all part of a collection of categories identifying articles with reliable-sourcing issues. To find all such articles, see Category:Wikipedia articles with sourcing issues.

When not to use[edit]

Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced should be removed immediately. Do not tag it: remove it. For more information, see the section on contentious material in the Biography of Living Persons policy.

Material which is doubtful and harmful may be removed immediately, rather than tagged. See Wikipedia:Citing sources § Unsourced material.

If no citation is given, use the ((Citation needed)) tag instead. If the source given is self-published, use ((Self-published inline)). If you think the author has a conflict of interest or is otherwise too close to the subject, use ((Third-party inline)). If the source has been surpassed by a newer, reliable publications that no longer support the claim in the article, use ((Obsolete source)).

If the source provided is independent, but is unreliable for another reason, use the ((Better source needed)) tag instead.

If you have the time and ability to find a better reference, please do so. Then correct the citation yourself, or correct the article text. After all, the ultimate goal is not to merely identify problems, but to fix them.

Template data[edit]

This is the TemplateData for this template used by TemplateWizard, VisualEditor and other tools. See a monthly parameter usage report for Template:Needs independent confirmation in articles based on its TemplateData.

TemplateData for Needs independent confirmation

This template is used in articles to identify sentences or short passages with information or analysis that has one or more inline citations but which are to insufficiently reliable sources. It produces the super-scripted text "Needs independent confirmation".

Template parameters[Edit template data]
This template prefers inline formatting of parameters.
Parameter		Description	Type	Status
Reason	`reason`	A reason as to why, or for what content, a better citation is needed. Auto value `This claim needs references to sources which can independently confirm it.`	String	suggested
Month and year	`date`	Provides the month and year of when the template was placed. Auto value `((subst:CURRENTMONTHNAME)) ((subst:CURRENTYEAR))`	String	required

See also[edit]

((Better source needed)), inline template to flag a statement as requiring a better source
((Unreliable source?)), inline template to flag a citation to work the reliability of which is questioned but uncertain
((Cite check)), article/section may have inappropriate or misinterpreted citations
((Additional citation needed)), the present source is insufficient but should be retained
((More citations needed)), article/section has weak or incomplete sources/references/citations
((Nonspecific)), a reference is too imprecise or ambiguous to enable it to be verified
((Unreferenced)), article/section has no sources/references/citations given at all
Wikipedia:Citing sources, especially § Unsourced material
Wikipedia:Reliable sources
Wikipedia:Template messages/Cleanup § Verifiability and sources
Wikipedia:Template messages/Sources of articles
Wikipedia:Verifiability
Wikipedia:WikiProject Reliability

Inline cleanup tags

Attribution

Clarity

Miscellaneous

Neutrality

Precision

((By how much)) ((Definition)) ((Definition needed)) ((Example needed)) ((Example needed span)) ((Explain)) ((How)) ((How often)) ((Misquoted)) ((Quantify)) ((Specify)) ((Vague)) ((When)) ((Where)) ((Which)) ((Who else)) ((Why)) ((Year needed))
Excessive	((Duplication span)) ((Importance inline)) ((Relevance inline)) ((Undue weight inline)) ((Globalize inline))

Time-sensitivity

Verifiability

Dubious	((Contradictory inline)) ((Disputed inline)) ((Dubious)) ((Dubious span)) ((Inconsistent)) ((Needs independent confirmation)) ((Speculation inline))
Bare URLs	((Bare URL inline)) ((Bare URL non-HTML)) ((Bare URL AV media)) ((Bare URL PDF)) ((Bare URL image)) ((Bare URL DOC)) ((Bare URL plain text)) ((Bare URL spreadsheet))
Incomplete or broken citation	((Author incomplete)) ((Author missing)) ((Date missing)) ((Dead link)) ((Edition needed)) ((Episode needed)) ((Full citation needed)) ((Incomplete short citation)) ((ISBN missing)) ((Moved resource)) ((Page needed)) ((Place missing)) ((Publisher missing)) ((Season needed)) ((Time needed)) ((Title incomplete)) ((Title missing)) ((Volume needed)) ((Year missing))
Missing or problematic reference	((Additional citation needed)) ((Better source needed)) ((Better source needed example)) ((Check quotation)) ((Chronology citation needed)) ((Citation needed)) ((Citation needed span)) ((Citation not found)) ((Close paraphrasing inline)) ((COI source)) ((Deprecated inline)) ((Excessive citations inline)) ((Failed verification)) ((Failed verification span)) ((Image reference needed)) ((Irrelevant citation)) ((Medical citation needed)) ((Medical citation needed span)) ((Nonspecific)) ((Not verified in body)) ((Obsolete source)) ((Page range too broad)) ((Primary source inline)) ((Promotional source)) ((Quote without source)) ((Request quotation)) ((Request quotation span)) ((Retracted)) ((Scientific citation needed)) ((Self-published inline)) ((Tertiary source inline)) ((Third-party inline)) ((Unreliable fringe source)) ((Unreliable medical source)) ((Unreliable source?)) ((Verify quote)) ((Verify source))

Wording

General advice

The above documentation is transcluded from Template:Needs independent confirmation/doc.
Editors can experiment in this template's sandbox and testcases pages.
Add categories to the /doc subpage. Subpages of this template.