User:Jh1234l/Essay
 | This is an essay. It contains the advice or opinions of one or more Wikipedia contributors. This page is not an encyclopedia article, nor is it one of Wikipedia's policies or guidelines, as it has not been thoroughly vetted by the community. Some essays represent widespread norms; others only represent minority viewpoints. |
 | This page in a nutshell: Just because an organization serves a noble cause, doesn't mean that our coverage of it should be only positive and ignore any criticism. |
Many charities are notable organizations that deserve to have an Wikipedia article.
Unfortunately, their Wikipedia articles are often plagued with excessive external links, promotional language, and lack of actual relevant information. In fact, WP:COI editing has made some articles read exactly like press releases.
Charities are good, but no matter how good of a cause it supports, their wikipedia articles should still be [[encyclopedic.
Examples[edit]
For example, this page: World Water Day
It is about a notable event hosted by the United Nations for a good cause. However, the article isn't helpful because its promotional language ended up making it gloss over important facts.
First of all, it uses a lot of promotional language, making the article gloss over important facts, such as what they did, public reaction, and resulting legacy. Instead, we get bloated words without actual useful facts.
Water and energy are closely interlinked and interdependent. Energy generation and transmission requires utilization of water resources, particularly for hydroelectric, nuclear, and thermal energy sources. Conversely, about 8% of the global energy generation is used for pumping, treating and transporting water to various consumers. In 2014, the UN System – working closely with its Member States and other relevant stakeholders – is collectively bringing its attention to the water-energy nexus, particularly addressing inequities, especially for the 'bottom billion' who live in slums and impoverished rural areas and survive without access to safe drinking water, adequate sanitation, sufficient food and energy services. It also aims to facilitate the development of policies and crosscutting frameworks that bridge ministries and sectors, leading the way to energy security and sustainable water use in a green economy. Particular attention will be paid to identifying best practices that can make a water- and energy-efficient 'Green Industry' a reality.
Secondly, the main purpose and nature of the event was not talked about in the first paragraphs, and instead we have a mini how-to guide on how to show our support, which is clearly not encyclopedic.
World Water Day has been observed on 22 March since 1993 when the United Nations General Assembly declared 22 March as "World Day for Water".[1] This day was first formally proposed in Agenda 21 of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Observance began in 1993 and has grown significantly ever since; for the general public to show support, it is encouraged for the public to not use their taps throughout the whole day.
Thirdly, assertions were presented as fact without any inline citations.
Water and energy are closely interlinked and interdependent.
Maybe the World Water day article's promotional language was just an anomaly. Let's see another non-profit organization. Scouts Canada. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Scouts_Canada&oldid=581659979#Full-time_programs
The promotional language was also present in this article, too, with some parts looking like an recruitment flyer.
The Cub Scout program is based on The Jungle Book and encourages Cub Scouts to Do Your Best at whatever they do. Along the way, Cub Scouts learn how to take care of themselves and work as a team – and most importantly have a lot of fun
Maybe those two were just bad article writing, but some articles were filled with conflict-of-interest editing. For example, a user called "Drinkwise Australia" edited the article Drinkwise.
As you can see, many Wikipedia articles on charities and non-profit organizations are filled with advertising language.
Why this is bad[edit]
Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, meaning that it has to be written like an encyclopedia. A newspaper ad is not encyclopedic. An advertisement flyer is not encyclopedic. A wikipedia article written like an advertisement is likewise, not encyclopedic.
Encyclopedias give readers the whole story in an unbiased way. However, an article written like an advertisement portrays the subject in a positive light, and ignores important facts and opinions that do not fit the advertiser's ideas. To omit important facts in articles simply because the subject is a charity compromises Wikipedia's educational purpose.
How you can help[edit]
Search up articles about charities, and see if there are any problems with promotional language. Rewrite them by adding reliable sources and verifiable facts and opinions from different sides, depending on their prominence. Add the template Template:Advert and a note on the talk page to pages that have a lot of advertising language.