Sunday, October 05, 2014

#Wikipedia - Ümit Yaşar Toprak commander of al #Nusra and #NPOV

The "Neutral Point of View" is one of the guiding principles of Wikipedia. In science it is defined as:
the concept of a position formed without incorporating one's own prejudice
According to the article about him, Mr Toprak died in an air strike inside of Syria. The problem with the article however is in several of the categorisations; 20th-century criminals, 21st-century criminals, War crimes committed by Islamist militant groups. They imply that Mr Toprak was both a criminal and that he personally was responsible for war crimes.The article does not support this in any way.

There is no need to appreciate Mr Toprak but the argument to include him in such categories are obviously partisan. As these claims are not supported in the text, it makes Wikipedia partisan as a consequence. It undermines the Wikipedia validity as a source for this conflict and it removes the legitimacy of NPOV claims in other domains as well.
Thanks,
      GerardM

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