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Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Rupert Dover (2nd nomination)

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The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was keep. Or no consensus, depending how you look at it, but there's no consensus to delete here. There's however a strong suggestion emerging from this AfD that the article may need substantial editing to address WP:BLP concerns. Sandstein 09:52, 2 June 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Rupert Dover (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views) – (View log · Stats)
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I nominated the original article for deletion as it was simply an attack page. Although substantially expanded for a new controversy, the current content of the has not changed this orientation. A person of Dover's rank would not usually warrant an article, and the current controversy is a very common problem in HK due to lax enforcement by the Lands Department. The issues being exposed have rightly received press coverage, as Dover as a brutal cop and major hate figure and is considered by most citizens a legitimate political target; Apple Daily, as one of the few unbridled journals has published the findings of its investigation. In my view, the issue will probably be resolved administratively, and the worst that can happen is a demolition order and a fine (but I think it will just get swept under the rug bearing in mind the political climate). How this is dealt with, however, is not relevant to our consideration. Wikipedia should not allow itself to be a vector for doxxing enemies of freedom and democracy (or indeed any other ideology). Until there is more notable "achievements", the article should stay deleted and the space saltedOhconfucius (on the move) (talk) 12:18, 6 May 2020 (UTC) [reply]

Note: This discussion has been included in the list of United Kingdom-related deletion discussions. CAPTAIN RAJU(T) 13:57, 6 May 2020 (UTC)[reply]
Note: This discussion has been included in the list of Hong Kong-related deletion discussions. CAPTAIN RAJU(T) 13:58, 6 May 2020 (UTC)[reply]
Note: This discussion has been included in the list of People-related deletion discussions. CAPTAIN RAJU(T) 13:58, 6 May 2020 (UTC)[reply]
  • Keep: Although the Apple Daily coverage on it's own would likely not be enough to be notable, the substantial coverage by other secondary sources seem to warrant the retention of this article, as notability seems reasonable. Notability is not necessarily based on "achievements", and even if Apple Daily's investigation is not found to be just, I think the secondary coverage of Apple Daily's report and subsequent reactions are notable enough. Per WP:BASIC, IMO there is little question of the notability as the subject has "received significant coverage in multiple published secondary sources that are reliable, intellectually independent of each other, and independent of the subject."--17jiangz1 (talk) 14:29, 6 May 2020 (UTC)[reply]
  • Delete This isn't a WP:GNG problem as there's ongoing tabloid coverage of him, it's a WP:BLP issue. I've noted multiple times at the ongoing deletion review that this page really doesn't show the lasting notability of Mr. Dover, someone whose position in a normal city would not lend itself to notability. This page is being used to effectively cover an ongoing scandal in which he has been involved in WP:NOTNEWS format. The article has served as a WP:COATRACK in the past for complaints against his leadership, and is currently covering a minor and ongoing scandal in WP:NOTNEWS format. Per WP:BLP, Biographies of living persons ("BLPs") must be written conservatively and with regard for the subject's privacy. Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, not a tabloid: it is not Wikipedia's job to be sensationalist, or to be the primary vehicle for the spread of titillating claims about people's lives. This article does not meet that standard. Nothing has changed since October, and this article should be salted if and until a completely neutral, doxproof version of the article can be created. SportingFlyer T·C 15:39, 6 May 2020 (UTC)[reply]
  • As an update, "Property Controversy" section is clearly not about him or his life and needs to be removed entirely, especially because it duplicates another Wikipedia article. SportingFlyer T·C 06:19, 11 May 2020 (UTC)[reply]
Note: This discussion has been included in the list of Law-related deletion discussions. Necrothesp (talk) 10:08, 7 May 2020 (UTC)[reply]
  • @Ohc on the move: Per WP:DUE representation should be "in proportion to the prominence of each viewpoint in the published, reliable sources." In this case, coverage of Dover has been revolving his participation in the policing of the 2019-20 protests and the property controversy, thus in this case the controversy should be a significant situation. On the other hand, perhaps WP:BLP1E might be applicable, thus the content regarding the property controversy should be moved to a separate article which can also cover similar accusations made towards other police officers and the consequent reactions, although this would leave out Dover's role in the protests, which although has less coverage, is still a significant part of media coverage on him.--17jiangz1 (talk) 15:36, 11 May 2020 (UTC)[reply]
Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion and clearer consensus.
Relisting comment: Keep.votes don't address the BLP.concerns. Further comment on that would establish if we close by headcount or strength of argument
Please add new comments below this notice. Thanks, Spartaz Humbug! 22:22, 14 May 2020 (UTC)[reply]
  • Delete. Not notable. Serious WP:BLP issues, the Rupert Dover#Property controversy is completely inappropriate, as it is a private issue devoid of secondary source coverage from a distant perspective. The sourcing is essentially investigative journalism plus official sources, all primary source material. It is a WP:Attack page because it is desperate coverage of anything after the failure to tie the individual, on Wikipedia, to the incident where Hong Kong Police Force shot at protesters. If stubified by removing the property issue, it is even more clearly non-notable, a senior police officer in the Kowloon West (constituency), and that page does not mention him. --SmokeyJoe (talk) 05:47, 16 May 2020 (UTC)[reply]
Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion and clearer consensus.
Relisting comment: While there is now a keep participant who is addressing the concerns there's not yet enough discussions to call it a consensus.
Please add new comments below this notice. Thanks, Barkeep49 (talk) 01:11, 22 May 2020 (UTC)[reply]
  • Comment: Wikipedia is not China. An article in The Sunday Times said Dover is "a British officer in the Hong Kong police who has become a hate figure for protesters", yet person is innocent until proven guilty. No amount of cite-bombing will mitigate the fact that Dover is well-known because he is hated. Au contraire, it rather just proves the point. FWIW, I despise him too, but I foresee that the article will remain a battleground, as it will be argued that with all the news articles about his illegal structures must mean they are valid and can be cited. --Ohconfucius (on the move) (talk) 07:38, 24 May 2020 (UTC)[reply]
  • If the primary concern is that there will be edit wars/vandalism in the future, isn't permanent page protection or pending changes more effective or appropriate? Even if he is just a hate figure, he is a very notable hate figure in Hong Kong. The article is fairly stable. If keyboard warriors are going to lay siege, I am sure Chris Tang will be the first target, but even that article is fairly stable too. OceanHok (talk) 18:06, 27 May 2020 (UTC)[reply]
  • with respect, the primary concern is not that there will be vandalism or edit wars, but that much of the very tabloid nature of the current content totally violates WP:BLP, and does not reflect any genuine notability. There is no disputing Chris Tang, as popo commissioner, is notable. The Dover article is stable probably because we're a pretty civil bunch that prefers to battle out the fundamental issue (that this is an attack page) here at AfD, bearing in mind that if the property scandal stuff is removed, there's very little encyclopedic material left for a biography. BTW, it seems that Dover won't be taken to court, as predicted. --Ohconfucius (on the move) (talk) 21:23, 27 May 2020 (UTC)[reply]
  • Keep per Cunard—probably the first and last time I will write that phrase—but it's clear that he's notable beyond a single event. Enforcement of WP:RS, with page protection if necessary, is preferable to deletion. buidhe 13:22, 30 May 2020 (UTC)[reply]
  • Draftify. It's fairly obvious from Cunard's first batch of citations that he is notable, but an article that is two thirds negative WP:RECENTISM about something that doesn't actually appear to be that important is not a suitable article. Get it out of mainspace until it's improved. Black Kite (talk) 00:25, 1 June 2020 (UTC)[reply]
  • Comment: The BLP concerns can be resolved without moving the article to draftspace. The BLP concerns raised by Black Kite, SportingFlyer, SmokeyJoe, Ohconfucious, and myself can be resolved by completely removing the Rupert Dover#Property controversy section.

    Wikipedia:Biographies of living persons#Restoring deleted content says:

    To ensure that material about living people is written neutrally to a high standard, and based on high-quality reliable sources, the burden of proof is on those who wish to retain, restore, or undelete the disputed material.

    When material about living persons has been deleted on good-faith BLP objections, any editor wishing to add, restore, or undelete it must ensure it complies with Wikipedia's content policies. If it is to be restored without significant change, consensus must be obtained first. Material that has been repaired to address concerns should be judged on a case-by-case basis.

    Any editor who wants to add information about the property controversy would need to either substantially trim it to comply with BLP and WP:RECENTISM or gain consensus on the talk page for restoring the material without significant change. I have not removed the section myself as that would be a controversial action.

    Cunard (talk) 00:44, 1 June 2020 (UTC)[reply]

    • I support removing the Rupert Dover#Property controversy section, seeing how it goes, without prejudice to a later AfD. I think a *brief* mention of the multiple controversies might be OK, but it must be brief and cited to secondary sources. There is a huge WP:COATRACK problem, but I think it could be managed by a strict adherence to WP:PSTS, specifically, no primary sources not cited in an independent secondary source. --SmokeyJoe (talk) 03:36, 1 June 2020 (UTC)[reply]
The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.