Wikipedia:Metacoverage

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Metacoverage is coverage of coverage. On Wikipedia, it refers to article text that explicitly describes the simple, obvious fact that a given subject had been mentioned in sources or a particular type of source, sometimes without necessarily mentioning what those sources have said about that subject. If a subject has received only trivial mentions in independent, reliable sources, an editor (or AI chatbot) might use metacoverage in an attempt to mask its non-notability.

Examples

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Uncontroversial statements

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N Fastened Loose Holdings was profiled in media outlets like The Foo Chronicle and Raw Bar Digest, which reported that it had earned over $15 million in the third quarter.^[1]^[2]

Y Fastened Loose Holdings earned over $15 million in the third quarter.^[1]^[2]

1 2 Doe, J. "Fastened Loose Makes $15 Million Within Just a Few Months" The Foo Chronicle
1 2 Wright, Edsel "HOLDINGS, FASTENED LOOSE: Corporate Earnings Report - Q3 2025" Raw Bar Digest

Sources should be used to support uncontroversial statements of fact about the subject itself, not statements about the coverage of the subject.

In-text attribution

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N Tales of Adventure was mentioned in a Literature Lodge review, which highlighted the novel's ability to captivate readers.^[1]

Y Jean Doe of Literature Lodge described Tales of Adventure as "a page-turner" that is "difficult to put down".^[1]

1 2 Doe, Jean "'Tales of Adventure' - Book Review" Literature Lodge

Although it is appropriate to attribute reviews to sources, article text should summarize what the critics who made those reviews have said.

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Content additions	Avoid thread mode Copyediting reception sections Coup Don't throw more litter onto the pile Gender-neutral language Metacoverage Myth vs fiction No trojan horses Proseline Reading in a flow state Turning biology research into a Wikipedia article Use our own words We shouldn't be able to figure out your opinions Write the article first Writing about women Writing better articles
Deletion	Adjectives in your recommendations AfD is not a war zone Arguments to avoid in deletion discussions Arguments to avoid in deletion reviews Arguments to avoid in image deletion discussions Arguments to make in deletion discussions Avoid repeated arguments Before commenting in a deletion discussion But there must be sources! Confusing arguments mean nothing Content removal Counting and sorting are not original research Delete or merge Delete the junk Deletion is not cleanup Does deletion help? Does merging help? Don't attack the nominator Don't confuse stub status with non-notability Don't overuse shortcuts to policy and guidelines to win your argument Emptying categories out of process Follow the leader How the presumption of notability works How to save an article nominated for deletion I just don't like it Identifying blatant advertising Identifying test edits Immunity Keep it concise Liar liar pants on fire No Encyclopedic Use Notability is not everything Nothing Nothing is clear Overzealous deletion Relisting can be abusive Relist bias The Heymann Standard Unopposed AFD discussion Wikipedia is not Whack-A-Mole Why was the page I created deleted? What to do if your article gets tagged for speedy deletion When in doubt, hide it in the woodwork Zombie page

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Examples

Uncontroversial statements

In-text attribution

See also