![]() | This is an information page. It is not one of Wikipedia's policies or guidelines, but rather intends to describe some aspect(s) of Wikipedia:Verifiability policy. It may reflect varying levels of consensus and vetting. |
![]() | A complete version of the documentation for this template is provided at Template:Citation needed. If you are new to editing and instead just need a general overview of how sources work, please visit the referencing for beginners help page. |
To ensure that all Wikipedia content is verifiable, anyone may question an uncited claim. If your work has been tagged, please provide a reliable source for the statement, and discuss if needed.
You can add a citation by selecting from the drop-down menu at the top of the editing box. In markup, you can add a citation manually using ref tags. There are also more elaborate ways to cite sources.
In wiki markup, you can question an uncited claim by inserting a simple {{verifiable, anyone may question an uncited claim. If your work has been tagged, please provide a reliable source for the statement, and discuss if needed.
You can add a citation by selecting from the drop-down menu at the top of the editing box. In markup, you can add a citation manually using ref tags. There are also more elaborate ways to cite sources.
In wiki markup, you can question an uncited claim by inserting a simple {{Citation needed}}
tag, or a more comprehensive {{Citation needed|reason=Your explanation here|date=November 2020}}
. Alternatively, {{fact}}
and {{cn}}
will produce the same result. These all display as:
Example: 87% of statistics are made up on the spot.[citation needed]
For information on adding citations in articles, see Help:Referencing for beginners. For information on when to remove this template messages, see Help:Maintenance template removal.
A "citation needed" tag is a request for another editor to verify a statement: a form of communication between members of a collaborative editing community. It is never, in itself, an "improvement" of an article. Though readers may be alerted by a "citation needed" that a particular statemen
You can add a citation by selecting from the drop-down menu at the top of the editing box. In markup, you can add a citation manually using ref tags. There are also more elaborate ways to cite sources.
In wiki markup, you can question an uncited claim by inserting a simple {{Citation needed}}
tag, or a more comprehensive {{Citation needed|reason=Your explanation here|date=November 2020}}
. Alternatively, {{fact}}
and {{cn}}
will produce the same result. These all display as:
Example: 87% of statistics are made up on the spot.[citation needed]
For information on adding citations in articles, see Help:Referencing for beginners. For information on when to remove this template messages, see Help:Referencing for beginners. For information on when to remove this template messages, see Help:Maintenance template removal.
Before adding a tag, at least consider the following alternatives, one of which may prove much more constructive:
Frequently the authors of statements do not return to Wikipedia to support the statement with citations, so other Wikipedia editors have to do work checking those statements. With 412,736 statements that need WP:Verification, sometimes it's hard to choose which article to work on. The tool Citation Hunt makes that easier by suggesting random articles, which you can sort by topical category membership.