"" is a tag added by Wikipedia editors to unsourced statements in articles requesting citations to be added.^[1] The phrase is reflective of the policies of verifiability and no original research on Wikipedia and has become a general Internet meme.^[2]

Usage on Wikipedia

The tag was first used on Wikipedia in 2006,^[2] and its template created by user Ta bu shi da yu. By Wikipedia policy, editors should add citations for content, to ensure accuracy and neutrality, and to avoid original research.^[3] The citation needed tag is used to mark statements that lack such citations.^[1] As of June 2023^[update], there were more than 539,000 pages on Wikipedia (or roughly 1% of all pages) containing at least one instance of the tag.^[1] Users who click the tag will be directed to pages about Wikipedia's verifiability policy and its application using the tag.^[4]

Usage outside Wikipedia

In 2008, Matt Mechtley created stickers with "", encouraging people to stick them on advertisements.^[5]

In 2010, American television hosts Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert led the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear at the National Mall in Washington, D.C., where some participants held placards with "".^[6]

Randall Munroe has frequently used "" tags for humorous commentary in his writings, including in his 2014 book What If?^[7][8][9]

It was also used as the name of a 2014–2018 YouTube series by the British comedy group The Technical Difficulties. In the show, Tom Scott gives the title of a random Wikipedia article to the other members, and they try to guess on what the rest of the article is about with a 'ding' and points for correct guesses.^[10]

Many social media personalities also use "" when talking about an unsourced claim. Hbomberguy used it in his video about Bill Nye.^[11]

References

External links

• The dictionary definition of citation needed at Wiktionary
• Citation needed entry at Know Your Meme