WP:Attribution needed

{{short description|Essay on attributing perspectives and opinions}}

{{Essay|WP:ATTNEED}}

To identify when perspectives and opinions in Wikipedia are asserted without stating whose they are, an {{fix

|link=Wikipedia:Attribution needed#Section

|text=attribution needed

|class=noprint Template-Fact

|title=This claim needs references to reliable sources

|date=

}} flag may be inserted.

{{quotation|Example 1:   Many people say that Earth is flat like a pancake.{{fix

|link=Wikipedia:Attribution needed#Section

|text=attribution needed

|class=noprint Template-Fact

|title=This claim needs references to reliable sources

|date=

}}
Example 2:   Earth is "flat like a pancake".{{fix

|link=Wikipedia:Attribution needed#Section

|text=attribution needed

|class=noprint Template-Fact

|title=This claim needs references to reliable sources

|date=

}}

}}

To create the {{fix

|link=Wikipedia:Attribution needed#Section

|text=attribution needed

|class=noprint Template-Fact

|title=This quotation needs references to reliable sources

|date=

}} flag, insert the following:

• {{tl|Attribution needed}}

When you see this flag, please do the following:

• Exercise caution where there are perspectives and opinions asserted without stating whose they are.
• If you have reason to think that these perspectives and opinions are not attributable to anyone by a reliable source, you may remove them altogether. Optionally, paste them into the article's talk page and explain your reasoning of why they should be deleted.
• If you know who the perspectives and opinions can be attributed to: Please be bold, delete the template, and indicate who they are attributed to, either in the text or with a citation.
• Controversial, poorly sourced perspectives and opinions in biographies of living persons should be deleted immediately.
• Do not demand in-text attribution for simple, non-controversial facts. Simple facts, like "The Earth is round", should not be attributed to one person, because that attribution implies that very few people agree with the statement. In-text attribution is normally reserved for minority views, controversial claims, and other widely disputed material.