Wikipedia:Political endorsements
 | This page documents an English Wikipedia content guideline. Editors should generally follow it, though exceptions may apply. Substantive edits to this page should reflect consensus. When in doubt, discuss first on this guideline's talk page. |
 | Political endorsements in a nutshell: For a political endorsement to be included on a list of endorsements; the endorser must have an article or be unquestionably entitled to one and coverage of the endorsement in a reliable source must use the word "endorse", or a closely related synonym. Endorsements by individuals must be referenced to one or more sources that are both reliable and independent of the endorser. |
List articles include items consisting of links to articles in a particular subject area and may include additional information about the listed items. Endorsement lists are comprised of unambiguous endorsements from notable individuals or organizations for a political candidate running for an elected office.
Embedded lists function identically to list articles, except that the list is embedded within another article, usually a campaign article.
Inclusion criteria
editInclusion of political endorsements on lists must meet the following criteria which arose from consensus in a community-wide RfC establishing inclusion criteria for lists of political endorsements. Note that these are minimum criteria, so other Wikipedia policies and guidelines apply.
Endorsements by individuals
editAll of the following criteria must be met for inclusion of any political endorsement by an individual within an endorsement list article or an embedded list of endorsements.
1. Lists of endorsements should only include endorsements by notable people.
- Whether or not it is necessary for the person to also have a Wikipedia article can be determined at the article level
2. Lists of endorsements should only include endorsements which have been covered by reliable independent sources.
- This means endorsements should not be sourced solely to a Tweet or Instagram post by the endorser, endorsee, or an affiliated individual or organization, for example; see WP:RSPSS#Twitter for detailed information on acceptable usage of Twitter as a source on Wikipedia. Social media posts are considered self-published sources which may only "be considered reliable when produced by an established subject-matter expert, whose work in the relevant field has previously been published by reliable, independent publications" such as tweets from journalists who have previously covered local or national politics for a reputable organization.
3. Lists of endorsements should only include endorsements which are specifically articulated as "endorsements".
- Expressions of support, use of particular hashtags, comments about donating to a campaign, and other forms of praise of a candidate is often included as an "endorsement". Support of this criterion would require the endorsement be explicit. In most cases, this would require use of the word "endorsement" by the person endorsing or by media coverage thereof. Other language which can be understood as unequivocal endorsement can be discussed on a case-by-case basis (for example, "I am campaigning for Candidate X" or "I am backing Candidate X").
Endorsements by organizations
edit1. Lists of endorsements should only include endorsements by notable organizations.
- Whether or not it is necessary for the organization to also have a Wikipedia article can be determined at the article level
2. Lists of endorsements should only include endorsements which have been covered by reliable sources, which may include the organization's own website or official social media accounts.
3. Lists of endorsements should only include endorsements which are specifically articulated as "endorsements".
- Expressions of support, use of particular hashtags, comments about donating to a campaign, and other forms of praise of a candidate is often included as an "endorsement". Support of this criterion would require the endorsement be explicit. In most cases, this would require use of the word "endorsement" by the person endorsing or by media coverage thereof. Other language which can be understood as unequivocal endorsement can be discussed on a case-by-case basis (for example, "I am campaigning for Candidate X" or "I am backing Candidate X").