Wikipedia:Don't say something is unknown just because you don't know
 | This is an essay on the conduct policy. It contains the advice or opinions of one or more Wikipedia contributors. This page is not an encyclopedia article or a Wikipedia policy, as it has not been reviewed by the community. |
You will come across articles where someone will assert that a certain fact is unknown. Before you write in an article that a certain fact is unknown, consider if the fact is unknown to you or unknown to the body of collective human knowledge.
If the answer is the former, then please, don't write in this encyclopedia that the fact is unknown.
Your ignorance (perhaps despite some research) does not make it a fact suitable for inclusion in this encyclopedia. By stating that it is "unknown" when someone, somewhere knows the answer is deliberately adding false information to the encyclopedia. WP:Editing Policy clearly states, "on Wikipedia a lack of content is better than misleading or false content". If the fact is truly unknown, then cite that it is unknown with an inline reliable source.
Instead of leaving the missing information blank, tag the page with relevant templates:
- Inline templates: {{Author missing}}, {{Data missing}}, {{Date missing}}, {{ISBN missing}}, {{Place missing}}, {{Publisher missing}}, {{Title missing}}, or {{Year missing}}.
- Banners: {{Expand section}}, {{Missing information}}, {{Incomplete list}}, {{Inc-film}}, {{Inc-lit}}, {{Inc-musong}}, {{Inc-personnel}}, {{Inc-sport}}, {{Inc-results}}, {{Inc-science}}, {{Inc-transport}}, {{Inc-tv}}, or {{Inc-vg}}.