User talk:CasualObserver'48
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Hello, I apologize in advance for probably not formatting this correctly.
I'm wondering if you'd like to take a look at the article If Americans Knew. Some editors seem to be swarming to get quotations included that amount to extreme criticism of a living person without including any response or refutation. I've posted these concerns on the article talk page too.
The first quote in question states that an article by If Americans Knew's founder made unsubstantiated and unsupported claims and argued for false facts without evidence. In fact, a leading expert in the field and others support the facts explored. It seems to me that if this criticism of one of the founders many articles is going to be included, the many countering viewpoints/quotes must be included. This seems to me to be excessive digression in the article, but, either way, I feel it's completely inappropriate to include the criticism without balance.
The second quote is from a marginal writer making extreme accusations against Weir, as well as accusations about other authors, based solely on the source's assertion -- and the edits don't offer any further support of the accusations or any response from or on behalf of those authors. If these types of accusations against both Weir and other authors are going to be included, it seems to me that some kind of response must be included.
These quotes appear potentially defamatory against a living person. (My understanding is that even quoting or republishing potentially defamatory material is potentially defamatory itself.) At the minimum, the spirit of fairness requires that a response or counter viewpoint be given.
Thanks for considering. I'm pretty new on Wikipedia and the swarming and personal attacks are quite intimidating.SM-Mara (talk) 16:20, 2 June 2016 (UTC)