Talk:Peter Popoff
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Can anyone specify which sources there are for this info? Except maybe the refs I found were at James Randi, a critic of Peter Popoff -- TheQz 22:49, 28 Apr 2005 (UTC)
- The quotes I just submitted are directly from his infomercial. -- dpk 15:32, 14 Dec 2005 (UTC)
[edit] NPOV tag
This article is problematic because it presents the subject from only the prespective of a debunker. We need to be neutral here at Wikipedia. The criticism should stay as referenced, but we should also include biographical and "other side of the story" testimony in the article to preserve neutrality. One idea would be to take all of the critical comments and revelations about Popoff's charlatanism and place it in a separate section. --ScienceApologist 18:44, 2 May 2006 (UTC)
- Okay, but is Popoff notable for anything _besides_ his charlatanism? Runderwo 20:27, 2 May 2006 (UTC)
- Popoff is a fringe personality in faith-healing who is only well-known because he was caught using an earpiece and survey cards to pretend to receive "revelations". Inevitably, most faith healers and evangelists only gain mainstream coverage when they're caught lying, or exposed as frauds. - Chadbryant 01:54, 3 May 2006 (UTC)
- Popoff's main notoriety is from his debunking, so the article should focus on that. The fact that the facts reflect badly on Popoff does not mean the article is biased (see NPOV#Undue weight and NPOV#A simple formulation); notice that the article doesn't read "Peter Popoff is a bad, bad man." Paraphrased, it reads "Peter Popoff acted like he was listening to God when he was really listening to a radio transmission", and I don't know of any other version of the story. His site doesn't mention the incident (surprise, surprise), googling "Peter Popoff" will give you links to dozens of Christian sites openly critical of him, he admitted to the charade in the past, and even Jerry Falwell sent a letter to the Tonight Show at the time in approval of the debunking.[1] What specific parts of the article are non-NPOV? What "other side" is there to represent? — Elembis 07:45, 6 May 2006 (UTC)
- Popoff exploits religion and believers for money. That is the truth. The truth may not be pretty sometimes, deal with it and stop crying about neutrality. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 71.68.11.205 (talk • contribs) 11:17, May 10, 2006 (UTC).
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- I don't know that Popoff's main notoriety is from his debunking. He has enough money to sponsor his own show on television where he hawks his wares. It is conceivable that a causal reader would come to this page having only seen his infomercials and not knowing about the debunking. In this case, it is vital that we include the appropriate debunking as it is useful information. However, it would be nice to actually learn something about the guy other than debunking his absurd claims. I'd like to know how he got his start, what churches he affiliates with, who supports him, who doesn't, etc. You know, a neutral description of his position in society. As a reader, I find the information currently in the article useful, but before this article becomes NPOV, it needs to be expanded in other areas. --ScienceApologist 13:59, 10 May 2006 (UTC)
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- By the way, the article has improved since I last read it. It's getting much closer to NPOV, so thanks to all who helped. --ScienceApologist 14:02, 10 May 2006 (UTC)
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- You're right, what I said was too generalized; it's quite conceivable that someone who watches American TV more than they browse the internet would know more about Miracle Spring Water than his debunking. And I agree that it would be nice to include more information about his earlier years, church membership, denominational affiliations, and any notable support he's received. But I don't think our current inability (or at least my current inability) to find such (ostensibly neutral) information from reliable sources makes the article non-NPOV. I doubt you do, either.
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- The only biographical information I've been able to find is from his page about himself. But I'm strongly inclined to not use it; it makes the extraordinary claims that he "preached his first sermon at age nine and conducted his first crusade at age 14", that he and his wife "have ministered in over forty countries" (I'm guessing he's counting TV broadcasts as ministries), and that he "spearheaded a massive Bible smuggling crusade that successfully penetrated the Iron Curtain and sparked a revival that continues to this day." The relevant guideline is Wikipedia:Biographies of living persons#Role of the subject as a source, which says information cited from self-published material (i.e., a work published by the person it discusses) may only be added to an article if meets several criteria, one being that "there is no reasonable doubt that it was written by the subject." In this case, there is such reasonable doubt: it's written in the third person, and it isn't signed, so it could have been written by an aide just as easily as by Popoff himself. That means that, according to a guideline (not a policy), we should not use that page as a source.
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- Shouldn't the article be concerned with the important facts rather than the most "widely known" ones? The man is plainly a fraud and a charlatan, it's not non-NPOV to state this plainly. The article needs to be 'accurate' above all. -- Lacerta 17:23, 29 May 2006 (UTC)
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I think that the article has reached a point now where the NPOV notice can be removed. Thanks everybody for their help! --ScienceApologist 19:55, 8 June 2006 (UTC)
[edit] TV Schedule
The article states:
- Popoff can now be seen on the Travel Channel, BET, and Comedy Central
This, I think, is a little misleading. While it is true he does appear on those channels, it is in paid infomercials. The way it is worded kind of implies it's regular programming, which it is not. Should this be made clearer? Jake b 05:14, 9 May 2006 (UTC)
- Good point. It now reads "Popoff's infomercials can be seen...". — Elembis 06:19, 9 May 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Basic facts
When and where did this guy born? I wasn't able to find such a simple thing in google. The purpose is, I'd like to write an article to lt:wiki --Windom 04:12, 29 September 2006 (UTC)
- From his official website: He was born in East Berlin (DDR). When? Doesn't say. It says "After the war", so it was post-1945. - Pernambuco 05:45, 15 October 2006 (UTC)
