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Help:Introduction to editing/notability quiz

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Imagine that a draft article on Acme Inc. cites four sources: a single-sentence mention in an article by The New York Times while pointing out a missing feature in a rival's product when compared to the product by Acme; an extensive company profile in a Forbes.com blog by a non-staff contributor; a blog post by a tech enthusiast who has provided a review of the product; and a court filing by a competitor alleging patent infringement.

Does the article demonstrate the subject's notability under Wikipedia's general notability guideline?

Answer

No, it does not. In order to count toward notability, each source must constitute significant coverage in an independent, reliable secondary source.


  • The New York Times article is reliable, independent, and secondary – but not significant (a single-sentence mention in an article about another company).
  • The Forbes blog profile is significant and secondary – but not independent or reliable (most such posts are company-sponsored or based on a company's marketing materials - see WP:FORBESCON).
  • The tech blog review is significant and secondary – but may not be independent (blog posts are often sponsored) and is not reliable (self-published sources are generally not reliable, unless they are written by subject-matter experts).
  • The court filing is significant and reliable (in that the court record is a verified account of a legal action being taken) – but not secondary (court filings are primary sources) or independent (they are written by the parties to the legal action, which have a vested interest in the outcome).

Therefore, the article does not have a single source that could be used to establish the notability of the company, let alone multiple sources.

The analysis of the above example can be summarized in the following table:

Source Significant? Independent? Reliable? Secondary? Pass/Fail Notes
The New York Times Red XN Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Red XN A single-sentence mention in an article about another company.
Profile in Forbes Green tickY Red XN Red XN Green tickY Red XN Most such posts are company-sponsored or based on company's marketing materials.
Tech blog post Green tickY Question? Red XN Green tickY Red XN Blog posts are often sponsored and self-published sources are generally not reliable unless written by a subject-matter expert.
Court filing Green tickY Red XN Green tickY Red XN Red XN Court filings are primary sources. While we hope they will be truthful, court filings are written by the company (or its opponents in court), so they are not independent.
Total qualifying sources 0
There must be multiple qualifying sources to meet the notability requirements
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