Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Leonard Horowitz (2nd nomination)

Leonard Horowitz

AfDs for this article:

• Articles for deletion/Leonard Horowitz
• Articles for deletion/Leonard Horowitz (2nd nomination)

Leonard Horowitz (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views) – (View log · Stats)

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I first asked at WP:FTN because I thought that this person might be notable from a WP:FRINGEBLP perspective. However, the consensus there was that he was not.

Alternatively, we could argue he might be notable from a WP:AUTHOR perspective, but I think he clearly fails the criteria there.

Finally, we could ask whether he is notable from a WP:PROF perspective. Again, it seems clear that he is not.

I cannot find a biographical criteria by which he is notable. Basically, he is used as a reference by the anti-vaccine or AIDS conspiracy theory community probably because of his nominal medical training. But mere mention of a person is not grounds for notability here. There needs to be significant coverage of the person as a person for a biography to be possible. The previous AfD's !Keep rationales don't to me indicate any good reasons to have a WP:BLP for the person and the fact that the article has had tagged problems for nearly half a decade seems to me to say that its problems are not solvable (probably because sources simply are not forthcoming).

I believe that the situation is such that we don't have good reason to keep this article. His lack of notability furthermore hampers any attempt to create WP:NPOV and reasonable evaluation of the content. Some preference a default to delete mindset for biographies and I would say that this is a prime example where such an instinct could be quite helpful. jps (talk) 12:11, 8 August 2014 (UTC)

Note: This debate has been included in the list of United States of America-related deletion discussions. • Gene93k (talk) 15:33, 8 August 2014 (UTC)

Note: This debate has been included in the list of Conspiracy theories-related deletion discussions. • Gene93k (talk) 15:33, 8 August 2014 (UTC)

Note: This debate has been included in the list of Medicine-related deletion discussions. • Gene93k (talk) 15:33, 8 August 2014 (UTC)

Note: This debate has been included in the list of Actors and filmmakers-related deletion discussions. • Gene93k (talk) 15:33, 8 August 2014 (UTC)

Note: This debate has been included in the list of Authors-related deletion discussions. • Gene93k (talk) 15:33, 8 August 2014 (UTC)

• Delete. Just not seeing evidence the subject meets notability under any of the above mentioned categories. I am open to hearing discussion and seeing sources. - - MrBill3 (talk) 08:20, 9 August 2014 (UTC)
• Delete. Fails WP:BLPFRINGE. I am not able to find significant coverage of the subject in reliable sources independent of the subject. The article appears to exploit tenuous links (i.e. trivial mentions) between Horowitz and Kimberly Bergalis as well as Horowitz and the Jeremiah Wright controversy as a backdoor approach to notability. The bulk of the article is built upon either primary source information or information that does not mention Horowitz. I do not have a strong objection to redirecting to Discredited HIV/AIDS origins theories#Purported intentional creation. Location (talk) 09:02, 10 August 2014 (UTC) [Edited 15:27, 14 August 2014 (UTC).]
• Keep notable author and producer. Also possible discoverer of the true origins of HIV.

  Quote: It may be of interest to some that in 1996 Dr Leonard G Horowitz of Harvard, (DMD, MA, MPH) published his award-winning, best-seller: “EMERGING VIRUSES-AIDS and EBOLA-Nature, Accident or Intentional”. After exhaustive research of stunning scientific documents, Dr Horowitz claims that during the 60s the American National Cancer Institute, researchers mixed viral genes from different animals “to produce leukemia, sarcoma, general wasting and death”. See Al-Ahram Weekley. He is the author of the best seller EMERGING VIRUSES-AIDS and EBOLA-Nature, Accident or Intentional. This should not even be up for deletion review. (Boss Reality (talk) 10:40, 14 August 2014 (UTC))

• Delete Boss Reality convinced me... --Randykitty (talk) 14:07, 14 August 2014 (UTC)

• Reply to Randykitty, :) :), somehow I had a feeling that you would jump on what I said. But what are your own thoughts ?

• Delete - seems to fail WP:BLPFRINGE and WP:SIGCOV, among other policies and guidelines. WegianWarrior (talk) 15:21, 14 August 2014 (UTC)
• Comment - Dr Leonard Horwitz, Bestselling author and winner of Author of the year award 1999 by World Natural Health Organization. Author of over 12 books including Emerging Viruses: AIDS And Ebola : Nature, Accident or Intentional? was a bestseller.
  Customer Reviews of Emerging Viruses: AIDS And Ebola : Nature, Accident or Intentional?
  Dr. Leonard G. Horowitz's national best-seller (that the New York Times refused to review) provides the first in-depth exploration into the origins of HIV and Ebola [1]

  A range of reviews See all 47 customer reviews (newest first) >

Just a snippet here where the reviewer R. Wood says Quote: "Interestingly, the bad reviewers of this book have only convinced me of its accuracy. None of their criticisms strike me as being sound. A few of them criticize the book for scaring people" Sourced from Amazon.

Now, I'm not in any way trying to use this to validate the book or the author. All I'm doing is using an example of a reviewers observation of reactions to new and challenging information.

Award winner: 1999 “Author of the Year Award” from the World Natural Health Organization. The Spectrum MAY 8, 2001 Page 57 (Boss Reality (talk))