In the news
- Paetongtarn Shinawatra (pictured) becomes Prime Minister of Thailand after Srettha Thavisin is dismissed by the Constitutional Court.
- The World Health Organization declares the African mpox epidemic to be a global health emergency.
- Voepass Linhas Aéreas Flight 2283 crashes in the Brazilian state of São Paulo, killing all 62 people on board.
- Sheikh Hasina resigns as Prime Minister of Bangladesh following anti-government protests, and Muhammad Yunus is appointed leader of an interim government.
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In the news toolbox |
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The "In the news" (ITN) section on the Main Page serves to direct readers to articles that have been substantially updated to reflect recent or current events of wide interest. ITN supports the central purpose of Wikipedia—making a great encyclopedia.
Unlike Wikipedia's sister project Wikinews, Wikipedia is not an online newspaper and does not accept original works of journalism or first-hand reports. Wikipedians are allowed to create and update encyclopedic articles of timely interest based on reliable sources. ITN originated in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, when entries were created and put on the Main Page within minutes of the attacks. The entries led to an infusion of interest by editors in creating a Main Page section that linked to articles providing readers the context behind the news.
Events posted on ITN are listed in approximately reverse chronological order, with the more recent entries appearing first. They are generally not sorted by any degree of importance or significance. Events are added based on a consensus on the ITN candidates page, using two main criteria: a) the quality of the article, including material added or updated to reflect the recent event, and b) the general significance of the developments.
Purpose
edit- To help readers find and quickly access content they are likely to be searching for because an item is in the news.
- To showcase quality Wikipedia content on current events.
- To point readers to subjects they might not have been looking for but nonetheless may interest them.
- To emphasize Wikipedia as a dynamic resource.
Criteria
editCandidates for ITN are evaluated on two main grounds: a) the quality of the article and its updated content, and b) the significance of the developments described. A successful nomination will normally go through several procedural steps before being added to the ITN template.
Updated content
editEach ITN item contains an emboldened link to an article providing a substantial quantity of directly relevant information, attributed to reliable sources. Typically, the article has been updated to include this text or created in response to the recent/current event.
The decision as to when an article is updated enough is subjective, but a five-sentence update (with at minimum three references, not counting duplicates) is generally more than sufficient, while a one-sentence update is highly questionable. Changes in verb tense (e.g. "is" → "was") or updates that convey little or no relevant information beyond what is stated in the ITN blurb are insufficient.
In the case of a new, event-specific article, the traditional cut-off for what is enough has been around three complete, referenced and well-formed paragraphs. An example of the minimum required update for a new article is Fuzhou derailment at the time of its posting.
If the recent/current event relates directly to previous occurrences (e.g. a major award honoring past achievements), the article can be considered sufficiently updated when there is consensus that it contains appropriate, up-to-date coverage of the entire chronology, irrespective of when the text was written or how many sentences pertain specifically to the recent/current event (apart from the requirement that it be mentioned).
Updated content must be thoroughly referenced. As with all Wikipedia articles, citations must be to reliable sources. While articles on topics such as sporting events and economics lend themselves to tables of numbers, updates must be at least in part written in prose to qualify for ITN consideration. References should be correctly formatted and not bare URLs.
Articles that are subject to serious issues, as indicated by 'orange'- or 'red'-level tags at either the article level or within any section, may not be accepted for an emboldened link.