Wikipedia banned this media outlet as an 'unreliable' source
Prepare yourself for less celebrity gossip on Wikipedia.
Editors for the site (who are all volunteers) voted Wednesday to almost entirely ban the British tabloid newspaper the Daily Mail as a source, calling the publication "generally unreliable."
The Daily Mail's reliability has been a point of contention on the user-edited encyclopedia site since 2015 if not earlier. But discussion about its efficacy as a source was revived in early January when one user led the campaign against the Daily Mail.
Editor Hillbillyholiday argued during a discussion that the outlet is untrustworthy for science-related stories, inappropriately posts photos of children and has limited credibility even with direct quotes and interviews.
Those opposed could not support a blanket banning but agreed on a comprise: to use the Daily Mail as a source only in limited situations.
One user commented with a "strong oppose" comment that "The Daily Mail, as hated as it is, is a very mixed bag. It can contain wonderful information such as accurate and informative interviews with highly respected people."
Ultimately, though, the news outlet has been effectively banned as a source, due to its "reputation for poor fact checking, sensationalism, and flat-out fabrication."
The Wikimedia Foundation, who runs the main Wiki site, pointed out that the outlet isn't fully banned -- its use as a reference is just "generally prohibited, especially when other more reliable sources exist.” But the key takeaway is that the Daily Mail is no longer a go-to reliable source for citing something on a page.
The ruling does not mean the Mail can never be used as a source, but editors are being encouraged to change information that cites the publication to a different source.
The Mail joins the National Enquirer among the few outlets that Wikipedia has called out in particular. The Sun and the Daily Mirror are also seen as unreliable. Wikipedia also warns against using state-run media like China's Xinhua or Iran's Press TV as sources.
Additional reporting by Jason Abbruzzese.
Sasha is a news writer at Mashable's San Francisco office. She's an SF native who went to UC Davis and later received her master's from the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. She's been reporting out of her hometown over the years at Bay City News (news wire), SFGate (the San Francisco Chronicle website), and even made it out of California to write for the Chicago Tribune. She's been described as a bookworm and a gym rat.
