Wikipedia:Editorial discretion

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an essay; it contains the advice and/or opinions of one or more Wikipedia contributors. It is not a policy or guideline, and editors are not obliged to follow it.

This page in a nutshell: Common sense and Wikipedia policy dictates that editors must practice discretion regarding the proper inclusion of relevant and well-sourced claims.

The content of any particular article is subject to editorial discretion developed via consensus. Wikipedia is not paper, which means we can write almost an unlimited amount on any topic. Still, there are restrictions on what we ought to include, and especially how we ought to write it.

Editorial discretion allows editors to evaluate sources, balance claims, and otherwise distill bodies of information into accurate, verifiable and comprehensive articles; accordingly with the neutral point of view policy, we need to accord appropriate weight to all information we include, to make sure we represent a topic properly and without distorting emphasis on any one part. Editors should exercise their discretion to make sure that relevant sources and claims are reflected fairly. Consensus may determine, among other things, whether a given source or claim is appropriate for article inclusion; meeting Wikipedia policies and guidelines is necessary to allow inclusion, but not necessarily sufficient to warrant inclusion. It's up to Wikipedia's editors to use editorial discretion to separate the wheat from the chaff.

Consequently, the most important (and readily citable) claims should go in the lead of an article, not the most salacious. Details reported only in lower-quality media (i.e., tabloids or self-published fringe works) require due caution when used in contentious articles and biographies of living persons. This doesn't exclude using these sources, but it's always prudent to remember that "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence".