Usage
This template is intended to be used when a statement is sourced but it is questionable whether the source used is reliable for supporting the statement. It produces a superscripted notation like the following:
- It was actually written by Francis Bacon.[9][unreliable source?]
Articles tagged with this template will be categorized into Category:All articles lacking reliable references.
Place this template inline, {{Unreliable source?|date=May 2026}} following the questionable source. The template should be placed outside and immediately after the reference to the questionable source (<ref> ... </ref>), within the article's text:
- Potentially controversial statement.
<ref>some alleged source for this</ref>{{Unreliable source?|date=May 2026}} Next sentence.
Parameters
The template has the following optional parameters:
- date: should be set to the month and year when the article was tagged. Example:
{{Unreliable source?|date=May 2026}}
- reason: a note explaining why you think the source is unreliable as per WP:RS. Displays as a tool tip. Keep it short (one sentence) as longer material belongs on the talk page. It is good to reiterate the reason in your edit summary. Example:
{{Unreliable source?|reason=Your WP:RS-based reason here.|date=May 2026}}
- sure or certain: if set to "y" or "yes" will remove the question mark from the template's output to denote a degree of certainty that the source is unreliable. Please use this with a
|reason= parameter, and only after a good faith attempt to verify the reliability of the source in question. Example: {{Unreliable source?|sure=y|reason=Your WP:RS-based reason here.|date=May 2026}} NOTE: This parameter has an alias, |failed=, which may make more grammatical sense when used with certain redirects like {{verify credibility}}.
