| Articles generally requiresignificant coverage inreliable sources that areindependent of the topic. |
To establishnotability...
We needsignificant coverage. We needmultiple sources that discuss the subject directly and in detail. Not: passing mentions, directory listings, government records. We want to see some sort of in-depth critical analysis, commentary, debate, discussion, or review in several sources.
The significant coverage should be in sources that arereliable. Usually this means that the publisher has a reputation for fact checking and the text must be approved by an editor before it is printed. For example: books from reputable publishing houses, mainstream newspapers, or other periodicals. Not:tabloids, forums, blogs, social media, fansites, wikis, or other websites with user-generated content.
We need those sources to beindependent from the subject of the article. Nothing written by the subject, paid for by the subject, or affiliated with the subject. Not their website, not a press release, not an interview. We're not interested in what thesubject has to say about themselves; we're interested in whatother people have to say about the subject.
Readers should be able to rely on what they read and be able toverify claims they read in Wikipedia articles. So,add footnotes to your article citingreliable sources as described. Forbiographic articles of living people in-line citations aremandatory, and every piece of biographic information (starting with the date of birth) must have an in-line citation to a reliable, published source.
