Sourcing is an issue that sometimes appears on mainspace articles. Whenever a statement on a page is suspected to be false, or that in has no evidence to back it up, a fact template is placed next to it. The person who inserted the statement (or someone else with equal knowledge of the subject) should find evidence and place it next to the statement to back it up. If a statement is left unsourced for a certain amount of time, it may be removed.
How to source
There are two ways to source a statement. One way is to simply leave some information next to it. The other, more effective way is explained below:
- Type in <ref>source here</ref> next to the statement that needs sourcing.
- Replace "source here" with an explanation, or a valid link to a video or blog post. If you're using a URL as a source, just leave the url without any wikicode.
- Go to the bottom of the page (but above any templates) and add a section called: ==Sources and references==
- Below that, add {{reflist}}
- Don't do step 2 and 3 if there is such a section in the article already.
- Now you will see a list of sources.
You can also use the same source twice, but without the hassle of typing in the same thing. Instead follow these instructions:
- Go to the source that you want to be cloned. Change <ref> to <ref name="add a name here" />
- Replace "add a name here" with a very short acronym or alternative name to assign to the source.
- Now, instead of repeating the previous steps for adding single sources, you simply have to place <ref name="add a name here" />
- Of course, replace "add a name here" with the short name you used for the parent source.
- Now you will see the same number in square brackets for two or more different statements in the published text.
If you don't know what source to use, or you think that there is a statement in the article that may not be true, then leave {{fact}} next to the text. This will indicate that someone else should source this statement.