Wikipedia Prohibits Daily Mail As Source For Editors

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Wikipedia editors have said users shouldn't use the Daily Mail as a source. Gary Cameron/Reuters

Editors at the online encyclopedia Wikipedia have banned the use of the Daily Mail as a source for its articles in most circumstances.

Editors said the move, following a debate on the site, was "centred on the Daily Mail 's reputation for poor fact checking, sensationalism and flat-out fabrication." Examples were provided to back up these claims, it added.

"Consensus has determined that the Daily Mail (including its online version, dailymail.co.uk) is generally unreliable, and its use as a reference is to be generally prohibited, especially when other more reliable sources exist," a statement on the site said.

"As a result, the Daily Mail should not be used for determining notability, nor should it be used as a source in articles," the statement continued, "An edit filter should be put in place going forward to warn editors attempting to use the Daily Mail as a reference."

The statement did note that some participants had argued "The Daily Mail is actually reliable for some subjects," adding that "if there are topics where it might be a reliable source, then better sources (without its disadvantages) should also exist and can be used instead."

It encouraged users to start reviewing the "multiple thousands of existing citations to the Daily Mail " on the site.

Newsweek has contacted spokespeople for the Daily Mail for comment.

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