Wikipedia talk:Citing IMDb

The Missing IMDB Ratings

I notice that most Wikipedia articles about movies do not include their IMDB rating. This is a remarkable decision for an organization that is based on the virtual, largely anonymous, crowd-sourced knowledge of empowered users. IMDB ratings are the product of something rather similar. If IMDB voters are less 'transparent' than Wiki authors (who certainly aren't nakedly obvious) they are far more numerous.

IMDB ratings are culturally significant. When Shawshank Redemption deposed Citizen Kane, 20 odd years ago, it was both major news, and an important reality check. Kane is a fine movie, but was reified by film schools. Shawshank may not be the greatest movie ever, either. But IMDB's flaws, namely that it represents opinions dominated by American white males (presumably) are exactly those leveled at Wikipedia. Wikipedia still works, because it allows anyone to contribute. Ditto IMDB. The fact that its voting system is open to all, if controlled for obvious attempts at manipulation, is not a bug, but a feature. As IMDB states, they exploit the concept of the "Wisdom of the Crowd". It bears repeating this 'wisdom' works if people think for themselves, without social influence. Anonymous voting is a genuine tool to achieve it.

It does seem, from 30,000 feet, that Wikipedia HQ competes with IMDB, and refuses to allow IMDB ratings because they think they're superior. It's amusing, I suppose, but also rather dubious. — Preceding unsigned comment added by BrianMichaelCoyle (talk • contribs)

Annette Maon (talk) 10:18, 28 September 2021 (UTC)

If you really think Wikipedia competes with IMDB, then you should pay close attention to the much bigger competitor which is information panels that appear on search engine result pages, which give readers the answers they want so they never bother coming to Wikipedia at all.

Wikipedia is crowd sourced but emphasizes using reliable sources to confirm that information. User generated information such as from other Wikis or user voted web polls are not reliable sources. WP:RS It is worth considering editorial intent, what does including IMDB scores do except indicate popularity that is already being shown by other more reliable sources, such as critics and box office. There are some exceptions, and when the IMDB score is noteworthy or "culturally significant" enough to be reported by WP: SECONDARY sources (such as Shawshank Redemption) then Wikipedia does mention it, but even then it isn't the score itself that is important, the point is to say that the film is enduringly popular.

As the IMDb user voted scores are not a reliable source the policy against including them (except in very limited circumstances) is unlikely to change. Comments on this essay are unlikely to change anything either, and if you want anything to happen you would probably need to make your case with the Wikipedia:Film Project (or WP:TV). (I understand this is an old discussion and my unoriginal responses are even older, but I write this as much for the many people reading without commenting than I do for the person who asked the original question.) -- 109.76.139.151 (talk) 17:00, 11 April 2022 (UTC)

The Essay doesn't mention IMDb Ratings. It doesn't state that they are good, bad, or indifferent. They aren't mentioned. If editors shouldn't use IMBd ratings, the essay should state that they shouldn't be used. Editors are pushed to use Rotten Tomatoes scores, which are highly misleading. For example, the Kim Possible movie has a Rotten Tomatoes rating of 100% based on 6 reviews. Those reviews are NOT reliable resources based on Wikipedia's standards. That leads readers to this essay, which fails to bring up the topic. 97.82.165.112 (talk) 13:30, 18 April 2022 (UTC)

They are not mentioned here because this is an essay, and it comes below guidelines, and below core principles of Wikipedia. The IMDB ratings are already excluded because they are user generated content WP:UGC and they are not a reliable source WP:RS. There is no obligation for this essay to repeat what has already been made clear elsewhere. It is not unreasonable for this essay to focus on the positive and recommend how to do things better (and not go into details about what not to do). -- 109.76.140.170 (talk) 22:02, 28 May 2022 (UTC)

How are IMDB ratings "excluded"? They would not be being "used" for anything except to state that "the IMDB rating for this film was 7.8 on 21st June 2022". That's a reliable and accurate statement of what the IMDB rating is. It is not a reliable indication of how the film is generally regarded, but as long as it just states what it states, it is accurate. Aredbeardeddwarf (talk) 13:58, 16 May 2023 (UTC)

There's no basis for including them as it's just based on users. For instance, Rotten Tomatoes is used because the score is based on reviews from critics. – The Grid (talk) 19:48, 16 May 2023 (UTC)

This is no answer at all. So what that it's just based on users? It is what it is. As long as it not presented as anything other than what it is, why should it be excluded? Both an IMDB rating and a Rotten Tomatoes rating just reflect the opinions of a set of people. Aredbeardeddwarf (talk) 00:03, 21 August 2023 (UTC)

And one is far more vulnerable to manipulation by a small if dedicated group of people than the other. Nardog (talk) 02:54, 21 August 2023 (UTC)

Again,so what. IMDB ratings are a thing, and they are a notable thing. Saying that a film has an IMDB rating of 9.0 may simply be noting that IMDB has been manipulated to have a rating of 9.0 for this film. You don't seem able to divorce yourself from the idea that reporting an IMDB rating is implying some kind of judgement on a film.

If Roger Ebert liked a film, that doesn't mean the film is good, it just means Roger Ebert liked it. If IMDB users have rated a film at 6, it just mean IMDB users have rated a film at 6. It's a popular website, people use it, and this is notable. 23:25, 19 September 2023 (UTC) Aredbeardeddwarf (talk) 23:25, 19 September 2023 (UTC)

Citing what?

I am confused. I think the main context and reason to cite IMDB is to identify a film, by linking to its title page. Is this essay arguing against such use? IMDB serves as the largest publicly available database of films. Sure, it has user generated content, possibly messy, but still adding some more bits to help decide what is what. It would be silly and arrogant from a generalist, completely user generated encyclopedia to fully disregard a specialist one with its core content created/supervised by editors just because there are also unreliable pieces of information there. Providus (talk) 00:29, 10 May 2023 (UTC)

I would agree with you. Surely the main use of IMDB as a reference would be to identify the film as existing. That is its an actual film or show. Not enough to establish notability perhaps but definitely enough to suggest a film/tv article is not a hoax if it has an IMDB page. I think the essay should say that IMDB is allowed as a reference to identify existence.

Coldupnorth (talk) 21:57, 2 March 2025 (UTC)

Clarification about WP:IMDB/BLP for date of birth

The "Inappropriate uses" section reads: 1. Any potentially contentious material about living persons (BLPs). Could you please clarify whether using IMDb to support a BLP date of birth is okay or inappropriate? Wikipedia:Reliable sources/Perennial sources#IMDb doesn't mention DOB, either. I've also read WP:BLPPRIMARY.

Context: I added a "citation needed" tag to a draft and the draft creator provided a link to IMDb and referred me to IMDb Biographical data guidelines which claims that some sort of proof (official document, social media link or LinkedIn link) is necessary.

Many thanks, Esowteric + Talk + Breadcrumbs 11:49, 30 June 2023 (UTC)

IMDB is WP:SELFPUB. I find it good for looking up stats about an actor, such as what films they've been in and how many appearances in a TV show and if they had a named role. But information in articles shouldn't be cited directly to IMDB. It should be cited to other sources.

But anyway, to answer your question, no, I think using a self-published source such as IMDB to cite a birthdate is definitely against WP:BLPDOB. BLP tells us it is better to omit things like birthdates and middle names if they are not common knowledge, for privacy reasons. And the way to judge whether it's common knowledge is if it's been published in reliable sources. And IMDB is not reliable because it's self-published. Hope this helps. –Novem Linguae (talk) 22:54, 30 June 2023 (UTC)

IMDb is 100% not acceptable for bio info (for WP:BLP) – that is long-standing policy. --IJBall (contribs • talk) 02:01, 1 July 2023 (UTC)

Is there consensus on bio info for dead people? I'm asking because the inclusion of Patsy Doris Dittemore on the article Gosport, Indiana has IMDB as its only source. Rorb lalorb (talk) 23:09, 30 May 2025 (UTC)

Thanks lot, guys. For additional context: I saw that this particular reality TV personality's date of birth is all over the place in Google searches, but not in reliable sources. Esowteric + Talk + Breadcrumbs 06:22, 1 July 2023 (UTC)

Genre

Is the media genre (drama, comedy, action, etc.) reasonable to reference directly from IMDB? Or perhaps only "objective" genres can be explicitly allowed per https://help.imdb.com/article/contribution/titles/genres/GZDRMS6R742JRGAG OceanLoop (talk) 22:50, 21 August 2025 (UTC)