Wikinews:Hoaxes
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This page is considered a guideline on Wikinews. It is widely accepted among editors and considered a standard that all users should follow. However, it is not cast in stone, should be treated with common sense, and occasional exceptions are expected. Edits should reflect community consensus and best-practice. When in doubt, discuss first on the talk page. |
Do not create hoax articles, or fake news, on Wikinews. They are a form of site abuse, and though we do not allow them to be published, they are a nuisance for site administrators and reviewers to dispose of.
Articles about newsworthy hoaxes (for example, Mass panic as Zimbabwean officials fake air crash) are potentially valid topics for article publication on Wikinews. Articles about newsworthy claims of uncertain veracity can be safely reported with careful attribution (for example, US President Trump says Osama bin Laden's son killed). However, articles which attempt to pass off false information as fact are not permitted and will be deleted on sight.
If you find an article that looks like a hoax, tag it with {{hoax}} and report it on Wikinews:Admin action alerts. Provable hoaxes may be deleted without discussion as they are unverifiable. People who repeatedly create hoax articles will be blocked for disruption and vandalism. Additionally, creating hoaxes is incivil since they attempt to play with other people's perceptions and are deliberately perpetrated.
If an article you wrote was tagged as a hoax and it is not, please provide sources showing it is not. If it is a hoax, consider requesting deletion as above.
If you find a hoax within an article that has been published for at least a day, follow the instructions on {{correction}} to mark the article.