Template:Citation needed

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"Template:Proveit" redirects here. For the template about the referencing gadget, seeTemplate:User ProveIt.

[citation needed]

{{Citation needed}}is atemplateused to identify claims in articles, particularly if questionable, that need acitationto areliable source.This template produces the superscripted messageand is installed with no spaces directly after punctuation.

Use

{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}

{{Citation needed|date=July 2024|reason=your reason here}}

Notes

• The|date=parameter consists of the full English name of the current month (with initial capital and rest lowercase), a space, and the year. For example, "January 2013"but not"jan13"or"January 23, 2013".Deviation from this rule will place the article inCategory:Articles with invalid date parameter in template.
  • To automatically add the current date, you can usesubstitutionlike this:{{subst:Citation needed}}.
  • If the|date=parameter is not given, abotwill soon add it (AnomieBOT's TagDater task) but it's better if you add it yourself to avoid an extra edit to the article's history.
• The|reason=parameter is for an explanation why you think the material needs a source. It is optional but very helpful. It is displayed as atooltipin some browsers (hover the mouse hereto check behaviour of your browser). For example, the following usage might be appropriate to the claim that "Humphrey Bogart was an avid snooker player":
  {{Citation needed|reason=This claim needs a reliable source; Bogart was a famous actor but his major biographies don't mention snooker.|date=July 2024}}
  • Use onlyplain textfor the|reason=parameter. It does not supportwiki markuplike wikilinks, which can mess up the tooltip.
  • Double quotation marks used within the|reason=parameter will likewise mess up the tooltip; use single quotes or the HTML code"instead.
  • If omitted, the tooltip "This claim needs references to reliable sources." is used by default.
• This template should usually be installed directlyafterpunctuation, such as a full stop (period) or a comma.
• Use of this template places the article intoCategory:All articles with unsourced statementsandCategory:Articles with unsourced statements from July 2024(example; past months are listed inCategory:Articles with unsourced statements).
• Remove the template when you add a citation for a statement.

Examples

Example 1

This sentence shows the template used at the end.{{Citation needed|reason=Reliable source needed for the whole sentence|date=July 2004}}

This wikitext will be rendered as follows:

This sentence shows the template used at the end.

Example 2

Humphrey Bogartwas an avid snooker player.{{Citation needed|date=July 2004}}

The template indicates that it may be that Humphrey Bogart played snooker at some point and it may be that he was enthusiastic about the game but noreliable,publishedsources were given to verify it and the information is not consideredcommon knowledge.

Humphrey Bogartwas an avid snooker player.

Example 3

If it is considered that he might have played snooker but was not an avid player, a reason for the need of a citation may be given, displayed as a tooltip when the mouse hovers on "citation needed":

Humphrey Bogartwas an avid snooker player.{{Citation needed|date=July 2004|reason=Only aware he was photographed playing once. Not aware of any source that claims he played a lot.}}

Humphrey Bogartwas an avid snooker player.

In this example, it may be better to use the{{Citation needed span}},which has slightly different syntax, template to highlight the word "avid".

When not to use this template

Contentious material aboutliving personsthat is unsourced or poorly sourced should beremoved immediately.Do not tag it; immediately remove it. This includes material that is disparaging, misrepresentative, insulting, harmful, or possiblylibelous.For some policy about this, see the sections"Remove contentious material that is unsourced or poorly sourced"atWikipedia:Biographies of living personsand"Burden of evidence"atWikipedia:Verifiability.

The {{Citation needed}} template is intended for use when there is a general question of the verifiability of a statement, or when an editor believes that a reference verifying the statement should be provided. Other templates are available for other or more specific issues; see thelist of inline templates.For example, claims that you think are incorrect should be tagged with{{Dubious}},and those which represent a non-neutral view should be tagged with{{POV statement}}.Being specific about the nature of the problem will help other editors correct it.

Within alead sectionthat is clearly written as a summary of a substantially sourced article,

• statements that are supported with citations within the body of the article should not be tagged,
• statements that are not supported in the article body should be tagged with{{Not verified in body}}.

If you have the time and ability to find an authoritative reference, please do so. Then add the citation yourself, or correct the article text. After all, the ultimate goal is not to merely identify problems, but to fix them.

While an editor may add this template to any uncited passage for any reason, many editors object to what they perceive as overuse of this tag, particularly in what is known as "drive-by"tagging, which is applying the tag without attempting to address the issues at all. Consider whether adding this tag in an article is the best approach before using it, and use it judiciously. Wikipedia'sverifiability policyrequires neither reliable sources forcommon well-known facts(e.g., "the Moon orbits the Earth" ), nor that citations be repeated through every sentence in a paragraph. All direct quotations and facts whose accuracy might be challenged (e.g., statistics) require citations. SeeWP:MINREFfor the list of material that is absolutely required to be followed by aninline citation,rather than ageneral referenceor no citation at all. Also note that theburden of evidencelies with the editor who adds or restores material.

This template is intended for specific passages that need citation. For entire articles or sections that contain significant material lacking citations (rather than just specific short passages), there are other, more appropriate templates, such as{{Unreferenced}}and{{More citations needed}}(for whole articles) as well as{{Unreferenced section}}and{{More citations needed section}}(for sections of articles).

Do not use this template to tag policies or guidelines.

How to respond to this tag

The addition of this tag is a request for an inline citation to support the tagged statement. If you are able to provide a citation to support the claim, then please do so.

Except forcontentious claims about living people,which should be immediately removed if not cited, there is no specific deadline for providing citations. Please do not delete information that you believe is correct solely because no one has provided a citation within an arbitrary time limit. If there is some uncertainty about its accuracy, most editors are willing to wait at least a month to see whether a citation can be provided.

Template data

This is theTemplateDatafor this template used byTemplateWizard,VisualEditorand other tools.See a monthly parameter usage reportforTemplate:Citation neededin articles based on its TemplateData.

TemplateData for Citation needed

The template is used to identify claims in articles, particularly if questionable, that lack a citation to a reliable source.

Template parameters[Edit template data]

Parameter		Description	Type	Status
Month and year	date	Provides the month and year of the citation request; e.g., 'January 2013', but not 'jan13' Auto value {{subst:CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{subst:CURRENTYEAR}}	String	suggested
Reason for citation	reason	A reason as to why, or for what content, the citation is needed; use single quotes, if any	String	optional

Tracking categories

• Category:Pages containing citation needed template with unsupported parameters(1) – a hidden maintenance/tracking category which is added to pages using this template with unsupported parameters
• Category:All articles with unsourced statements(521,375)

See also

• Citation needed,Wikipedia's mainspace article about this template
• Template:Citation needed span,variant of this template that explicitly attaches to a portion of text
• Template:Not verified in body,a similar template specifically for the lead of articles
• Template:Medical citation needed
• Template:More citations needed
• Wikipedia:Citing sources,especiallyUnsourced material
• Wikipedia:Reliable sources
• Wikipedia:Template index/Cleanup#Verifiability and sources
• Wikipedia:Template index/Sources of articles
• Wikipedia:Verifiability

Article message box templates

• {{Cite check}}:article or section may have inappropriate or misinterpreted citations.
• {{More citations needed}}:article or section has weak or incomplete sources, references, or citations.
• {{Unreferenced}}and{{Unreferenced section}}:article or section has no sources, references, or citations given at all.
• Citation method and style
  • {{Citation style}}
  • {{No footnotes}}

Shortcuts for this template

Redirects

Template:Facts(redirect page) ‎(links|edit) Template:Citeneeded(redirect page) ‎(links|edit) Template:Citationneeded(redirect page) ‎(links|edit) Template:Cite needed(redirect page) ‎(links|edit) Template:Cite-needed(redirect page) ‎(links|edit) Template:Citation required(redirect page) ‎(links|edit) Template:Uncited(redirect page) ‎(links|edit) Template:Cn(redirect page) ‎(links|edit) Template:Needs citation(redirect page) ‎(links|edit) Template:Reference needed(redirect page) ‎(links|edit) Template:Citation-needed(redirect page) ‎(links|edit) Template:Me-fact(redirect page) ‎(links|edit) Template:CB(redirect page) ‎(links|edit) Template:Sourceme(redirect page) ‎(links|edit) Template:Cb(redirect page) ‎(links|edit) Template:Refneeded(redirect page) ‎(links|edit) Template:Source needed(redirect page) ‎(links|edit) Template:Citation missing(redirect page) ‎(links|edit) Template:FACT(redirect page) ‎(links|edit) Template:Cite missing(redirect page) ‎(links|edit) Template:Citation Needed(redirect page) ‎(links|edit) Template:Proveit(redirect page) ‎(links|edit) Template:CN(redirect page) ‎(links|edit) Template:Reference necessary(redirect page) ‎(links|edit) Template:Refnec(redirect page) ‎(links|edit) Template:Source?(redirect page) ‎(links|edit) Template:Fact(redirect page) ‎(links|edit) Template:Refplease(redirect page) ‎(links|edit) Template:Reference required(redirect page) ‎(links|edit) Template:Needcite(redirect page) ‎(links|edit) Template:Needsref(redirect page) ‎(links|edit) Template:Ref?(redirect page) ‎(links|edit) Template:Citationeeded(redirect page) ‎(links|edit) Template:Are you sure?(redirect page) ‎(links|edit) Template:Citesource(redirect page) ‎(links|edit) Template:Cite source(redirect page) ‎(links|edit) Template:Ref needed(redirect page) ‎(links|edit) Template:Citation requested(redirect page) ‎(links|edit) Template:Needs citations(redirect page) ‎(links|edit) Template:Fcitation needed(redirect page) ‎(links|edit) Template:Need sources(redirect page) ‎(links|edit) Template:Request citation(redirect page) ‎(links|edit) Template:Citation Requested(redirect page) ‎(links|edit) Template:Request Citation(redirect page) ‎(links|edit) Template:Prove it(redirect page) ‎(links|edit) Template:Ctn(redirect page) ‎(links|edit) Template:Citation need(redirect page) ‎(links|edit) Template:PROV-statement(redirect page) ‎(links|edit) Template:Ciation needed(redirect page) ‎(links|edit) Template:Cit(redirect page) ‎(links|edit)

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