- This is a proposed concise, unified policy to take the place of WP:NPOV, WP:V and WP:NOR. It is still under construction, please help to construct it.
The content of Wikipedia is expected to meet two fundamental requirements:
- It must be verifiable from reliable sources;
- It must be written from a neutral point of view.
Verifiability means that any piece of information presented must be found in a reliable published source. The source may say it in different words, but there must be no doubt that the information presented is implied by what the source says.
Wikipedia is not a place to publish original research or original thought. The results of new experiments can be included only after they have appeared in a reliable source. Similarly, it is not acceptable to put together published facts to reach an original conclusion, except in completely routine and uncontroversial cases (such as straightforward calculations).
In order to ensure verifiability, editors are encouraged to add citations to support the information in articles. Dubious information for which attempts to find sources have failed should be removed. (Particularly egregious or defamatory unsourced information should be removed anyway.)
Neutral point of view means the following:
- Statements of opinion (rather than fact) should not be made directly, although significant opinions can be reported, with attribution to a particular source. In reporting opposing opinions, care should be taken to ensure that the selection of opinions reported fairly reflects the significance of the sources.
- Where different sources give conflicting facts, the differences should be reported, with appropriate balance so as to reflect the totality of the sources.
- Loaded or judgemental language should be avoided, particularly on controversial topics.
Examples edit
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