The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was delete and redirect to Redemption Paws. This is complicated. There is definitely some nonsense happening, which is why I will protect the redirect. However the consensus appears clear that Redemption Paws is notable, and there has been no case made why a redirect should not exist since Simone is tied to the organization. Star Mississippi 17:36, 17 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Nicole Simone (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views) – (View log | edits since nomination)
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Previously deleted back in 2021, see Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Nicole Simone. Archive of that version can be found here. I think this version differs substantially enough from the previous that it is ineligible for a speedy deletion. As per the previous 2021 deletion, I don't think she's notable as a musician. As noted in Willondon's table in the last AfD: Most of the sources are either A: Only tangentially about the subject, B: in self published blogs, or C: Appear to be pay-for-play publications. Redemption Paws (the animal charity she runs), which seems to have had a number of controversies may be notable, but that coverage isn't really about her specifically. Hemiauchenia (talk) 19:43, 10 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Per the creation of the Redemption Paws article by CT, I also support a redirect to Redemption Paws.--ExcutientTalk 13:40, 12 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]
  1. https://www.thestar.com/news/investigations/2022/03/02/this-is-not-right-behind-the-bitter-fight-for-one-of-torontos-most-high-profile-rescue-dogs.html (7 mentiones)
  2. https://www.thestar.com/news/investigations/2022/04/29/redemption-paws-shipped-difficult-rescue-dogs-to-newfoundland.html (15 mentions) CT55555(talk) 22:35, 10 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Surely given that other aspects of her career are not notable, the notable topic here is in fact Redemption Paws and not Simone herself? Would you agree to retooling this article into one about the organisation instead? Hemiauchenia (talk) 22:39, 10 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]
I think founding a notable organisation and having a mildly notable musical career justify my keep vote, so I don't plan to change it (but I have an open mind, I could be persuaded). But of course I find redirecting better than deleting. I do think the article needs a rewrite to include more about Redemption Paws, but to say more about that would be to stray outside the scope of AFD discussions, I think. CT55555(talk) 00:06, 11 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]
I am changing my vote to Delete per the ensuing discussion below, due to evidence of conflicts of interest and coatracking strategies. ---DOOMSDAYER520 (TALK|CONTRIBS) 14:39, 17 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]
I already voted above, but for anyone who insists that this woman should have an article because her music got some reviews, the article should be focused on the act called Late July, with that title at the top, because that is what got reviewed. Her activities outside of that act are already covered at the Redemption Paws article and there is no need for repeats in multiple articles. Otherwise my own vote stands as-is. ---DOOMSDAYER520 (TALK|CONTRIBS) 16:37, 12 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]
WP:MUSICBIO says Musicians [...] may be notable if they meet at least one of the following criteria and the creator of the article Redrosally suggests Criterion 1 applies. However, while there is one brief review in Earmilk, [3], the other sources in the article about Late July, i.e. v13.net, which operates a promotional business; Rival Online, which has an aspiring writer and writer on staff and reproduces what Simone says about her music, as well as the same superficial marketing copy reproduced on many low-quality sites; Elicit Magazine, which promotes itself as "Every Music Artist Has A Story, We Tell Yours" and "We work to give musicians the opportunity to be heard by the people they’ve always dreamed would vibe to their music" and is not a review - it is reproduced marketing copy announcing the release of a single; Influence Insider, another SEO clickbait website (check out its sidebar) that posts an interview and overview of songs without a byline; the Shipwreck'd! blog that "services the fashion and entertainment industry with press releases, bios, publicity and other communications"; Canadian Beats Media blog "Check out the video below and find out more about Late July via our Five Questions With segment"; Grimy Goods blog reproducing marketing copy and what Simone says; Too Much Love media company announcement based on what Simone says; Music Talkers announcement based on what Simone says about no longer working as Late July, posted by "a regular contributor for established press release distribution website Release-News.com"; and a basic All Music entry, do not support notability per this guideline, because these are not independent and reliable sources with non-trivial coverage. Beccaynr (talk) 17:29, 12 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]
If that was directed at me then it is completely unnecessary because I agree with you everywhere else in this debate. I did not say that Late July is definitely notable, and only mentioned it as a possibility. ---DOOMSDAYER520 (TALK|CONTRIBS) 14:08, 13 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]
A source analysis seems generally helpful for this discussion, e.g. there is mention above of 'numerous articles about her music and reviews of her songs' as support for notability. Beccaynr (talk) 14:28, 13 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]
- theconfidencemag.com - Article about her
- inspirationfeed.com - Article about her
- lingermagazine.com - Article about her
- artvoice.com - Article about her
- essentiallypop.com - interview, but it has a paragraph of info on her
- fiercefabulousrevolution.com - Music review
- wefoundnewmusic.com - music review
- twostorymelody.com - Interview, but also has 3 paragraphs of intro on her
- musictalkers.com - Music review
- ocnjdaily.com - About Redemption Paws, her organization, but mentions her many times
- ladygunn.com - Interview, but has 4 paragraphs of intro on her
- hollywooddynamics.com - Interview, but has a very long intro on her

I think that all editors above should reevaluate their votes based on these sources.~~ — Preceding unsigned comment added by Jeepers215 (talkcontribs) 06:48, 12 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Those aren't all (or even mostly} reliable sources at all, so none of them establish passage of GNG — GNG requires coverage in reliable sources, not just in any random website you can find her name in. Bearcat (talk) 15:46, 12 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Every single one of those are unreliable services used by self-promoters who practice dishonest SEO tactics. That method can get someone near the top of search results but it is a shallow accomplishment at best. See also the intensive and convincing analysis by Beccaynr below. ---DOOMSDAYER520 (TALK|CONTRIBS) 16:46, 12 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]
I think these sources help raise further concerns about this article being WP:ADMASQ, because there seems to be a pattern of likely paid self-promotion by the subject in low-quality sources:
  • The Confidence post is written by "a blogger and social media manager. She enjoys blogging about current events, lifehacks, and her experiences as a millennial working in New York." On this website, the Latest Articles sidebar lists "What Aspiring Professional Musicians Need to Know (An Interview with Jiawei..."; "How Does Online Video Marketing Work?"; "How To Create The Best Video Marketing"; "How Can You Use Video Marketing?"; "How To Create An Animated Marketing Video". This is not a reliable source and it further lacks independence because it is based on an interview ("With the rest of the article, we’d like to share some of Simone’s thoughts...").
  • Inspirationfeed "is a digital magazine covering everything from quotes, net worth, self-development, entrepreneurship, entertainment, technology, and creativity." It is also a sponsored content farm: "Inspirationfeed also occasionally receives monetary compensation or other types of remuneration for mentioning and/or linking to any products and services from this blog." It is not reliable coverage of her or her work with Redemption Paws.
  • The Linger source lacks a byline and appears to be reproduced marketing copy, on a website that describes itself as "an internation publication that showcases the industries of fashion, beauty and art with a focus on the creatives" and offers "celebrity interviews, coveted event coverage, engaging collaborations, industry partnerships and more" - this is a low-quality content farm that appears to have no staff or editorial policies posted.
  • Artvoice "was excited by the opportunity to talk to Simone about all of her projects" and is not independent coverage, and the reliability of this website appears questionable at best.
  • EssentiallyPop is a blog, and the paragraph intro to the Q&A that might as well be a press release is trivial coverage about her, although it has an interesting factoid about the location of the original television Bat Cave.
  • Fierce and Fabulous Revolution is another blog, that also appears to reproduce the same marketing copy that appears on other websites.
  • The WeFoundNewMusic post is marked "blog" and the website describes itself as "an artist discovery platform".
  • Two Story Melody is a website with over 30 contributing writers listed, and the 8 sentences of superficial marketing copy that precedes the Q&A is trivial coverage in this context.
  • The MusicTalkers post is written by "a regular contributor for established press release distribution website Release-News.com." The website also offers a sliding scale Music Promotion Packages and has other indicators of being a sponsored content farm.
  • The OCNJDaily post is bylined to "MediaWize" and is based on what Simone says. MediaWize appears to post similar interviews and PR copy.
  • LadyGunn notes that it has "a VERY SMALL editorial team", and the excessively-capitalized introduction to the Q&A posted by LadyGunn staff is a version of the same superficial marketing copy that appears across similar websites.
  • The Hollywood Dynamics post is written by "a writer and blogger for Hollywood Dynamics", and its sidebar includes links to "How Much Are Ubers In Los Angeles", "How Much Are Utilities In Los Angeles", "How To Watch Ncis Los Angeles In Uk", "How Much Is Uber From Los Angeles To San Diego", "How Much Is A Storage Unit In Los Angeles", "How Much Is Unemployment In Los Angeles", "How Far Is Los Angeles From Las Vegas By Plane" and "How To Get Vaccinated In Los Angeles", which seem to be SEO clickbait for this spam website. The intro to the Q&A is also a version of the same superficial marketing copy that appears across similar websites.
Beccaynr (talk) 16:39, 12 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]
none of the sources you've listed are ones we can use for RS, we need Billboard, a major newspaper or the like to talk about her. Oaktree b (talk) 05:11, 13 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]
All are blogs or self-promotion websites, so not helpful. Further proof that she isn't notable if this is all we have for sourcing. Oaktree b (talk) 03:34, 15 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]

As you can tell from the paid media coverage Nicole Simone has a habit of trying to buy fame and awards. Analysis of her social media following suggests she may have paid for a significant amount of her followers, and therefore I would not be surprised if she paid someone to create this page again, many business will take your money to do this. Therefore I find Redrosally’s involvement quite interesting, particularly how they “added more info about redemption paws” to the article as indicated on the talk page, yet managed to exclude all mention of the Toronto Stars articles. Arguably those articles are the most significant reporting done on the organization and also some of the most recent. I don’t find the section on redemption paws to be neutral as Redrosally wrote it given that omission. I also find immediately jumping to the assertion that they are being bullied to be interesting as on Redemption Paws social media they have used the same language that they are “being bullied” in response to any negative criticism.

I do support a redirect to Redemption Paws as I agree the organization is notable. However I have concerns about that article remaining neutral. I originally nominated her article after becoming increasingly frustrated with Greg, a personal friend of Nicole gatekeeping the edits and reverting anything that wasn’t positive.

Further Nicole herself has already tweeted about this Afd discussion, however in a way that grossly misrepresents the situation saying “In 2021 my Wikipedia was vandalized and removed. This year it was brought back and is now being removed but I'm just watching it like OK, how does this keep happening. Read it while you can! lol”

I find it quite suspect that she immediately knew about the page creation, unless she had a hand in its creation. Also her saying that it was vandalism and no mention of it being removed for lack of notability seems intentionally misleading.

Oaktree b Said “based on what I've read in the last AfD and some of these articles, she tends to sue people that don't paint a flattering picture of the organization. Not sure I'm wanting to venture down that rabbit hole by creating the article”

This is correct. Currently she is suing the former foster of Mayo (the dog profiled in the Toronto Star article who was sent to Newfoundland with no plan and eventually euthanized) for libel, slander and breach of contract. They have been maintaining an instagram account “dkfosters” where they have continued to highlight issues with Redemption paws and share other peoples experiences. This could very well be a legal rabbit hole and your concerns are valid.

She is also currently involved in a legal dispute over the ownership of a former foster dog that was adopted by their foster parent. Months after adopting when the owner posted a comment on the Redemption Flaws website Redemption Paws decided to take the dog back (by taking it from a vet without the owner present) and assert it had been stolen. A gofundme for legal fees have been started by the owner (espieandej on instagram). This legal action appears to be retaliation.

Redemption Paws themselves have recently posted about these lawsuits on their own social media, attempting to defend that they aren’t SLAPP suits.

I think that’s it… just wanted to provide some context and share my concerns. — Preceding unsigned comment added by NoSpamming (talkcontribs) 02:35, 17 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]

The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.