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Template:Unreliable fringe source/doc

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Usage

Use this template to "tag" dubious information or analysis which cites references produced by a fringe-theory or pseudo-science source, so that other editors can know to back up the statement with reliable citations or remove the claim, per Wikipedia:Verifiability.

It produces a superscripted notation like the following:

It is evidence of extraterrestrial life.[unreliable fringe source?]

Articles tagged with this template will be categorized into Category:All articles lacking reliable references.

Place this template inline, This page is being depreciated following the questionable claim (and any punctuation attached to it). The template should be placed outside the reference (<ref> ... </ref>), within the article's text:

Potentially controversial statement.<ref>some alleged source for this</ref>{{Unreliable fringe source|date=December 2025}} Next sentence.

When to use and not use this template

This template should be used to express doubt about the credibility of a source for a claim that is or should be subject to scientific verification.

For improperly sourced medical claims, use the more specific This page is being depreciated instead.

This tag should not be used on unreliably sourced contentious statements about living persons; if the source is not reliable, the statement should be removed immediately.

For whole articles or article sections that rely on fringe sources, considering using just This page is being depreciated or This page is being depreciated, respectively, rather than individually tagging a large number of statements.

For sources unreliable for reasons other than promotion of fringe ideas, the more general template This page is being depreciated can be used.

This tag should not be used to indicate that the sourced material could not be found within a given source. In that case, This page is being depreciated is a better template. For statements that have failed verification and have a questionable would-be source, consider removal of the source (and possibly the statement) over using both tags.

Parameters

The template has the following optional parameters:

  • date: should be set to the month and year when the article was tagged. Example: This page is being depreciated
  • reason: a note explaining why you think the source is unreliable as per WP:FRINGE and WP:RS. Displays as a tool tip. Keep it short (one sentence) as longer material belongs on the talk page. It is good to reiterate the reason in your edit summary. Example: This page is being depreciated
  • sure or certain: if set to "y" or "yes" will remove the question mark from the template's output to denote a degree of certainty that the source is unreliable. Please use this with a reason parameter. Example: This page is being depreciated

See also

Inline templates

  • This page is being depreciated, an alternative to This page is being depreciated; especially useful for tagging sources that are low-quality but not necessarily wrong
  • This page is being depreciated, for when a source has been surpassed by more recent works
  • This page is being depreciated, for fringe medical sources in particular
  • This page is being depreciated, for unreliable but non-fringe sources
  • This page is being depreciated, for misuse of primary source material
  • This page is being depreciated, for questionable claims that seem unlikely to be properly sourceable

More templates

Policies, guidelines, essays, and wikiprojects


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