On 9 February 2017 at 15:13, Stephen Philbrick < [email protected]> wrote:
> Does anyone have a link to the recent Foundation Statement about the Daily > Mail? We are receiving inquires at OTRS, and it would be nice if I see see > our official position. Here's the current version that's going out as of a few minutes ago, may be useful for adaptation. You probably can't put HTML links in, so maybe paste some URLs :-) (Currently trying to find an editor in the UK who can make Newsnight *tonight*, I can't.) - d. Hi X, Thanks for reaching out. We’d be happy to share a comment from the Wikimedia Foundation on the recent outcome of a discussion among volunteer editors around the use of the Daily Mail as a reliable source on English Wikipedia. One point of clarity -- A number of outlets have called this move a “ban.” This is not a blanket ban, but a general statement from volunteer editors on the reliability of the source for use on English Wikipedia. Also, I should mention that as the nonprofit that supports Wikipedia and the other Wikimedia projects, the Wikimedia Foundation generally does not set editorial policy on Wikipedia. That is up to volunteer editors around the world who contribute to the site. Editors have discussed the reliability of the Daily Mail since at least early 2015 <https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Potentially_unreliable_sources&diff=642377260&oldid=642376102>. In January 2017, an RfC <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Reliable_sources/Noticeboard#Daily_Mail_RfC> (Request for Comment) discussion was proposed to evaluate the use of the Daily Mail as a reliable source on English Wikipedia. This is one of many community discussions that take place every day about a broad range of issues, including reliable sources. In this case, volunteer editors seem to have come to a consensus that the Daily Mail is “generally unreliable and its use as a reference is to be generally prohibited, especially when other more reliable sources exist.” This means that there is a general recommendation according to this discussion that the Daily Mail not be referenced as a "reliable source" on English Wikipedia or used to demonstrate an article subject’s notability. That said, I encourage you to read the comments in the RfC <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Reliable_sources/Noticeboard#Daily_Mail_RfC> itself. You will find considerable discussion on the topic, including views both for and against the proposal. Wikipedia is a living, breathing ecosystem where volunteers regularly discuss and evolve the norms that guide the encyclopedia. Among Wikipedia’s many policies and guidelines, there is even a policy to ignore all rules <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Ignore_all_rules>. It captures the open spirit of the community: “If a rule <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Policies_and_guidelines> prevents you from improving or maintaining Wikipedia, ignore it.” As a general guide to reliable sources, articles on Wikipedia should be based on reliable, third-party <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Third-party_sources>, published sources with a reputation for fact-checking and accuracy. Editors assess the reliability of a source at these levels: - The piece of work itself (the article, book) - The creator of the work (the writer, journalist) - The publisher of the work (for example, Random House <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Random_House> or Cambridge University Press <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambridge_University_Press>) They also use a variety of criteria to evaluate reliability within each of these levels. For example, one signal that a news organization engages in fact-checking and has a reputation for accuracy is the publication of corrections <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Correction_%28newspaper%29>. _______________________________________________ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l New messages to: [email protected] Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, <mailto:[email protected]?subject=unsubscribe>
