Wikipedia talk:List of hoaxes on Wikipedia

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Al-Ṭurfa al-Šahiyya fī aḫbār al-ʿAʾila al-Swīsiyya

This is not a hoax. This book actually exists. See [1][2]. MSMST1543 (talk) 05:51, 2 September 2023 (UTC)

@MSMST1543 But the claim was about a film, not a book. _{Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus| reply here} 10:15, 17 October 2023 (UTC)

@Piotrus: It was not originally classified as a film when it was added. Its classification as a film was just an error that was made when reorganizing the article. MSMST1543 (talk) 14:37, 18 December 2023 (UTC)

10+ year fake etymology on Miccosukee article (2a)

this is an older one, being removed dec. 22 2017 [1], and was added sept. 26 2007 [2]

the claim is that Miccosukee derives from "micos sucios", Spanish for "dirty monkeys". this claim is from the "Journal of Etymological Studies", a (seemingly) nonexistent journal, and no credible source backs up the "micos sucios" claim. all sources spreading the "micos sucios" come after the addition to wikipedia.

if there was any truth to the "micos sucios" claim, it should be easy to find, since it claims to be backed up by a journal by Juan Ponce de Leon.

the same user who added the "micos sucios" claim also added an unsourced "Death" section to Daddy Yankee's page [3], which they themselves would delete shortly after [4], made a medicinal claim on the Pouteria sapota article which lasted 2 years [5] [6], and another etymological claim for Ciguatera fish poisoning that lasted 3 years [7][8] "greenzig" (talk) 15:25, 6 January 2024 (UTC)

Billionaire space race

Hi, I posted on Wikipedia talk:List of hoaxes on Wikipedia/Billionaire space race and at User Talk:Randy Kryn and he recommended I post here. The subpage Wikipedia:List of hoaxes on Wikipedia/Billionaire space race is not a hoax. The subpage was created by copying and pasting content from Billionaire space race while that page still existed. The page was discussed and kept at Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Billionaire space race, so it isn't a hoax. Therefore, I think Wikipedia:List of hoaxes on Wikipedia/Billionaire space race should be deleted because it's bad to have a non-hoax linked to hoax pages. Can someone delete the subpage or show me where to go to get it deleted? Thank you! Cauldron bubble (talk) 03:18, 30 March 2024 (UTC)

@Cauldron bubble: Follow the instructions at WP:MFD to nominate it. That said, I agree that it feels like there should be some sort of speedy criterion for WP:POINT here... "The community disagreed at AFD" does not mean "make a copy in the hoax museum because the community was Wrong (TM)". SnowFire (talk) 21:45, 3 April 2024 (UTC)

I went ahead and just nominated it myself: Wikipedia:Miscellany for deletion/Wikipedia:List of hoaxes on Wikipedia/Billionaire space race. SnowFire (talk) 20:25, 5 April 2024 (UTC)

Wikipedia:List of hoaxes on Wikipedia/Ruda Real

Given new sourcing, the Wikipedia:List of hoaxes on Wikipedia/Ruda Real page has been renominated for deletion. Contributions to the discussion can be made at Wikipedia:Miscellany for deletion/Wikipedia:List of hoaxes on Wikipedia/Ruda Real (2nd nomination). — CactusWriter ^(talk) 02:43, 3 April 2024 (UTC)

The Encyclopedia of Iranian Old Music

Is The Encyclopedia of Iranian Old Music a hoax? I tried searching the title in both Persian and English and got no results not derived from Wikipedia. If so this is certainly up there as one of the longest tenured, having been created on December 28, 2004. Pinging @Aza24: who tagged it for PROD, as well as @Piotrus: who's dealt with hoaxes upthread. Ten Pound Hammer • ^{(What did I screw up now?)} 04:06, 7 April 2024 (UTC)

Huh. Stub (now prodded) with the following content: "The Encyclopedia of Iranian Old Music (Persian: دانشنامه موسیقی ایران) a book that was published in Tehran by Mehran Poor Mandan in 2000." Creator was an IP active in related (Middle East) topics: Special:Contributions/212.238.143.99. My search is tough, nothing in English, so have to use Arabic moonrunes and machine translation. [3] seems to be about a later project with a similar name. Controlling for 2000 gives nothing but wiki mirrors. Yes, quite possible hoax, but could also be just a crappy article with typo / error. @TenPoundHammer _{Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus| reply here} 04:43, 7 April 2024 (UTC)

That was my initial thought too. I've never seen it referenced by other sources on Ancient Persian music, a topic which I write about frequently (see Parthian music and Barbad). Having an encyclopedia on "Iranian Old Music" is a rather bizarre scope; presumably this is indicating Pre-Islamic Persian music, of which there is very little known and probably not enough for a full fledged encyclopedia. Also seems possible that it is merely a self-published source, which is why its so niche (and not present in academia), but also occasionally found elsewhere (example). Aza24 (talk) 21:40, 7 April 2024 (UTC)

It's not a hoax, but both the English and Persian titles, as well as the author, are misspelled, making it hard to find. The correct Persian title is دایره‌المعارف موسیقی کهن ایران, which more accurately translates to "Encyclopedia of Ancient Iranian Music". It was published in the Solar Hijri calendar year of 1379 (corresponding to 2000–2001) by انتشارات سوره مهر (Soore Mehr Publications) [4], the publishing arm of حوزه هنری (The Artistic Sect of the Islamic Republic). The ISBN of the book is 9789644715945, and there are corresponding entries on WorldCat [5] and an Iranian book catalog [6]. The author is مهران پورمندان, more accurately transliterated as "Mehran Pourmandan"; there are some websites (not necessarily independent or reliable) about him that mention the encyclopedia: [7] [8] [9]. There is a short ISNA article [10] about the book, and a few CGIE articles cite it [11], but I haven't done a more extensive search of Persian sources to determine if this book is notable enough to have an article. Malerisch (talk) 02:14, 8 April 2024 (UTC)

@Malerisch Nice. So it seems I was right when I said "it could also be just a crappy article with typo / error". In the meantime, based on sources found, I think yes, this fails WP:NBOOK. _{Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus| reply here} 03:52, 8 April 2024 (UTC)

Kalloor

One for @Piotrus:: Kalloor. Created August 31, 2005, not subatantially altered since. Only other inbound link is Shri Datta Venkata Sai Temple, itself made in 2009 and turning up no non-Wikipedia mirrors. It's possibly I'm missing something and these were just not translated properly from one of the many languages used in India. However, the lack of... anything on Kalloor, along with spurious claims of the apostle Thomas being killed there -- itself not supported by Thomas the Apostle. While Kalloor does appear to be a given name in India, the claims about the family name's origins are not backed up by any sources. As these also existed at the same time as the spurious claims of the city, it's very likely all of that is a hoax too. And if so, at nearly 19 years, this appears to be a new record for longest standing. I have also posted at WT:INDIA and WT:GEOGRAPHY for further feedback. Ten Pound Hammer • ^{(What did I screw up now?)} 23:11, 4 May 2024 (UTC)

@TenPoundHammer Could be hoax, could be urban legend... certainly it should go to AfD due to lack of sources and possible hoax-status. Created by an IP: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/65.120.153.207 who also created Thrikkannamangal, a village which probably exists but it has a large unreferenced section on 'places of worship' that merits a review and possible blanking / moving to talk page. _{Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus| reply here} 01:10, 5 May 2024 (UTC)

@Piotrus: Should Shri Datta Venkata Sai Temple be speedied too? Even if not a hoax, it's very likely not notable. Ten Pound Hammer • ^{(What did I screw up now?)} 23:50, 5 May 2024 (UTC)

@TenPoundHammer I don't think speedy deleton is the right approach to this. Sources may exist in Hindi or such. I suggest letting a full AfD run its course. _{Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus| reply here} 03:18, 6 May 2024 (UTC)

This article was rightly deleted due to a lack of reliable sources, but I'm not sure that it's a hoax. "Kalloor" is briefly mentioned in a 2005 book containing the proceedings of the "First International Conference on the History of Early Christianity in India" [12] (WorldCat). This conference took place from 13 to 16 August 2005 [13], predating the Wikipedia article. The relevant sentence is this: Apostle Thomas was martyred in Mylapore near Madras (Tradition calls this place Kalloor - the place of rock) in Tamilnadu State, India. Mylapore is a real place, and St. Thomas Cathedral Basilica, Chennai, which supposedly houses the tomb of Thomas the Apostle, does exist in Mylapore. (Kalloor (கல்லூர்) does indeed mean "place of rock" in Tamil.) However, I was unable to find other reliable sources that corroborated this statement. Malerisch (talk) 00:59, 6 May 2024 (UTC)

I'd consider this to be non-notable though not be a WP:HOAX. Maybe worth mentioning if Madras has an article. B3251 (talk) 01:09, 6 May 2024 (UTC)

Madras—known today as Chennai—definitely has an article: it's one of the largest cities in India! Malerisch (talk) 01:19, 6 May 2024 (UTC)

Just a side note that this was not correctly speedied, as I started an AfD: Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Kalloor which should be allowed to run its course - it wasn't snow delete yet. I hope we don't need a DELREV for that. @BigHaz _{Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus| reply here} 03:16, 6 May 2024 (UTC)

I genuinely didn't see that when I deleted it, although checking the history it was most certainly there, so I can only plead stupidity on my part. As I mentioned to Ten Pound Hammer when asked about re-creating the page in the hoax list, I'm pretty busy for the next indeterminate time marking undergraduate essays, so at the risk of making more work for someone else, I may not be the best person to restore anything anywhere. BigHaz - Schreit mich an 11:27, 6 May 2024 (UTC)

@Piotrus: Should the article be temporarily undeleted for the benefit of those in the AFD? Ten Pound Hammer • ^{(What did I screw up now?)} 21:39, 6 May 2024 (UTC)

@TenPoundHammer I believe so. Asked at Wikipedia:Administrators'_noticeboard#Please_undelete_incorrectly_speedily_deleted_article_(now_at_AfD):_Kalloor _{Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus| reply here} 00:59, 7 May 2024 (UTC)

Do you think Shri Datta Venkata Sai Temple should be deleted as a hoax too? I get no non-mirror hits for it. Ten Pound Hammer • ^{(What did I screw up now?)} 03:49, 7 May 2024 (UTC)

@TenPoundHammer I suggest AfD. The odds are that sources, if any exist, are not in English, so we should give Hindi and like speakers who monitor relevant delsort lists a chance to comment. _{Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus| reply here} 04:13, 7 May 2024 (UTC)

The Shri Datta Venkata Sai Temple article should probably be renamed to Sai Baba Temple, Kallur if it isn't deleted, but I don't think it's a hoax. There are many places called "Kalloor/Kallur" or something similar in India, and the Telugu script in the included photo File:Temple hall.JPG, along with the fact that the article is in Category:Hindu temples in Telangana and not Category:Hindu temples in Tamil Nadu, suggests that this is not the same Kalloor as the one previously referenced in this discussion (most people in Tamil Nadu don't speak Telugu). It turns out that this one is simply mislinked and should point to te:కల్లూర్ (కుంటాల) (Kallur) instead: a village in Nirmal district, Telangana. The first revision of this article states that it's a temple in kalloor [sic] on the way to Banisa [sic], and Bhainsa is indeed pretty close to Kallur. There's a "Sai Baba Temple" in this village on Google Maps [14], and images of this temple from Google Maps match the ones in the article: [15] and File:Oveiwe.JPG show the same place; and [16] and File:Temple hall.JPG depict the same interior. Malerisch (talk) 05:56, 7 May 2024 (UTC)

Idi meat

Does this unsourced article created on 22 January 2011 look more like a hoax, a non-notable local concept, an incorrect definition, or a misspelling of a real thing? –LaundryPizza03 (dc̄) 13:46, 9 June 2024 (UTC)

There are plenty of search results and YouTube videos for ഇടി ഇറച്ചി/idi irachi/idiyirachi, so I don't think it's a hoax. Malerisch (talk) 19:40, 11 June 2024 (UTC)

Ahmed Farah Dualeh

Following my piece in The Signpost (which I'll shamelessly promote here: The lore of Kalloor), I believe I have found another hoax. While attempting to WP:DEORPHAN the article on Ahmed Farah Dualeh, I noticed an inconsistency. The article states that he is the President of Jubaland, whereas Jubaland has Ahmed Madobe as the president in the infobox. The results of my research were: Google: I could not find any reliable sources to support the claim that he is the president of Jubaland, or even that he exists. Most sources are either clones of Wikipedia or social media accounts. JSTOR: Searching "Ahmed Farah Dualeh" in quotes had zero results. Searching "Ahmed Dualeh" in quotes had a six results. Some of the results are about Elmi Ahmed Dualeh, which I initially believed that "Elmi" was some sort of Somalian title, which I wasn't familar with. However, it is not, as the papers refer to Elmi Ahmed Duale. One result, Against All Odds: The History of Archaeological Research in Somaliland and Somalia, says The most remarkable of these students is Ahmed Dualeh Jama, who published his PhD on Mogadishu; so talks about a different person who has the same first and middle name. The article was created, with the claim that he is the president of Jubaland, over fourteen years ago. Svampesky (talk) 17:27, 11 June 2024 (UTC)

Yes, it looks highly suspicious. Gawaon (talk) 18:13, 11 June 2024 (UTC)

Moved to Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Ahmed Farah Dualeh

 – Svampesky (talk) 18:59, 11 June 2024 (UTC)

This isn't a hoax, but "Jubaland" is a bit misleading here. In ~2010, Somalia was embroiled in a certain civil war (it's still ongoing); much of the region of Jubaland was (and still is) occupied by al-Shabaab. One consequence of this is that a bunch of self-declared mini-states were established, many with competing claims and no de-facto control. This article from Somalia Report has more detail on the mini-states and mentions Dualeh as the president of a "Jubbaland (2)"; this other Somalia Report article contains an interview with Dualeh, who established his claim in January 2012 in the US. This claim obviously didn't go very far; other claims like Azania, which was initially supported by Kenya during its invasion of southern Somalia to oust al-Shabaab, had more success. There are other sources as well; for example, here's an interview with Dualeh in which he talks about being the "president of Jubaland" at around 1:20. He also appears in Danish media (where he's based), like Jyllands-Posten [17] [18] and this in-depth profile of him in POV International [19], and has an X profile [20]. Malerisch (talk) 19:16, 11 June 2024 (UTC)