Wikipedia:Verifiability, not truth
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. |
Wikipedia's core sourcing policy, Wikipedia:Verifiability, defines the threshold for inclusion in Wikipedia as "verifiability, not truth." "Verifiability" is used in this context to mean that anyone should be able to check that material added to Wikipedia has already been published by a reliable source.
That we have rules for the inclusion of material does not mean that Wikipedians have no respect for truth and accuracy, just as a court's reliance on rules of evidence does not mean the court devalues truth.
The point of the sourcing policy is to ensure that editors cite reliable sources if challenged — or when adding material that is likely to be challenged. Citing good sources increases the likelihood that Wikipedia's articles will be intelligent reflections of current debate within the relevant fields, and gives readers the chance to check for themselves that the most appropriate sources have been used, and used well.
Unlike other encyclopedias, Wikipedians don't try to impose "the truth" on our readers, and we don't expect that they should trust something just because they read it in Wikipedia. All we do is provide what we hope are the most appropriate sources, and a readable text that sums up what they are saying in a way that we hope makes readers want to know more.
We empower our readers. We don't ask for their blind trust.
