Wikipedia:Offensive material
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This page documents an English Wikipedia content guideline. It is a generally accepted standard that editors should attempt to follow, though it is best treated with common sense, and occasional exceptions may apply. Any substantive edit to this page should reflect consensus. When in doubt, discuss first on the talk page. |
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This page in a nutshell: Wikipedia articles may contain offensive words and images, but only for a good reason. Do not use disclaimers. |
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Wikipedia's encyclopedic mission encompasses the inclusion of material that may offend. Wikipedia is not censored. However, words and images that can be considered offensive should not be included unless they are treated in an encyclopedic manner. Material that would be considered vulgar or obscene by typical Wikipedia readers[nb 1] should be used if and only if its omission would cause the article to be less informative, relevant, or accurate, and no equally suitable alternative is available.
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How to treat offensive material in articles
In original Wikipedia content, a vulgarity or obscenity should either appear in its full form or not at all; words should never be bowdlerized by replacing letters with dashes, asterisks, or other symbols. However, when quoting relevant material, rendering a quotation as it appears in the source cited trumps our style guidelines. Where it is necessary to indicate that an alteration is carried over from a quoted source, "[sic]" or "[thus in the original]" or a similar phrase, within single brackets, may be used.
Discussions about whether to include a vulgar or explicit image or verbal expression are often heated. As in all discussions on Wikipedia, it is vital that all parties practice civility and assume good faith. Labeling content with such terms as "pornography" or responses to content with such terms as "censorship" tends to inflame the discussion and should be avoided. Objective terminology is more helpful than subjective terminology.
Disclaimers should not be used in articles that contain potentially or patently offensive material. All articles are covered by the five official disclaimer pages.
"Not censored" is not an excuse for gratuitous offensiveness
A cornerstone of Wikipedia policy is that the project is not censored. Wikipedia editors do not remove material solely because it may be offensive, unpleasant, or unsuitable for some readers. However, it is equally true that Wikipedia does not include offensive material merely because it is available and permitted in appropriate contexts.
Especially with respect to images, editors frequently need to choose between alternatives with varying degrees of potential offensiveness. When multiple options are equally effective at portraying a concept, Wikipedia does not retain the most offensive options merely to "show off" its ability to include possibly offensive materials. Images containing offensive material that is extraneous, unnecessary, irrelevant, or gratuitous are not protected in the name of opposing censorship.
For example, editors selecting images for articles like Human body have thousands of images of naked bodies and body parts available to them, but they normally choose images that portray the human body in an unemotional, non-sexual standard anatomical position over images that might be more likely to surprise and offend readers because of their sexual content. Similarly, editors at articles like Automobile do not include images of vehicles with naked women posing near them, even though such images exist and "Wikipedia is not censored". Wikipedia is not censored, but Wikipedia also does not seek to needlessly offend its readers.
Additionally, the Wikimedia Foundation has committed itself to develop a personal image filter, which would take into account the personal choices of readers when displaying images. Following this WMF Board decision, a referendum was held to assess the importance of various aspects of the feature to the community. The filter is still in the design stage however; for further information see meta:Controversial content and meta:Image filter referendum/Next steps/en.
See also
- Wikipedia:Images - Offensive images
- Wikipedia:Pornography
- Wikipedia:Content disclaimer
- Wikipedia:No disclaimers in articles
- Wikipedia:Rating system, a proposal to warn users of possibly offensive content, rejected in 2004
- Wikipedia:Wikipedia is not censored
- wmf:Resolution:Controversial content
- Help:Options to not see an image
- Wikipedia:Inappropriate usernames
- Should Wikipedia Use Profanity?
Notes
- ^ Here a "typical Wikipedia reader" is defined by the cultural beliefs of the majority of the website readers (not active editors) that are literate in an article's language. Clarifying this viewpoint may require a broad spectrum of input and discussion, as cultural views can differ widely.
