Below are answers to frequently asked questions about the corresponding page Waterboarding. They address concerns, questions, and misconceptions which have repeatedly arisen on the talk page. Please update this material when needed. |
Does the lead with the phrase "Waterboarding is a form of torture" follow Wikipedia's neutrality guidelines?
- There have been extensive discussions on this topic over several months, and the consensus view is that according to the sources that exist, the phrase "waterboarding is a form of torture" is an accurate assertion, supported by an overwhelming majority of sources. For further details on how this conclusion was reached, the interested reader is referred to the discussion archives.
Isn't the current debate enough to call the status into question?
- Wikipedia tries to fairly represent the published views of relevant experts in an area. In this case, the vast majority of experts found so far have been of the opinion that waterboarding is torture. Almost no experts have stated the opposite position, while a few have expressed the view that it might not be torture in all circumstances. See here for a list of all sources that we have collected on this topic.
I still do not agree that this article's lead is neutral—how can I change it?
- If you wish to change the assertion that waterboarding is a form of torture, please first propose to revise the lead on the talk page. You should support your proposal with high quality reliable sources, such as from medical or legal scholars, supporting why it would not be an accurate description. Even a single new high quality source would be enough to revisit the debate. Then please add that source to here and mention the addition on this talk page.