View source for Wikipedia:Libel

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{{legal policy|WP:LIBEL|WP:LBL|text=This page is also a [[Wikipedia:Wikimedia Foundation|Wikimedia Foundation]] policy, established by [[Jimmy Wales]] and endorsed by the Foundation as necessary for the operation of the sites under its jurisdiction.}}
{{nutshell|Delete [[Defamation|libelous]] material when it has been identified.}}
{{Wiktionary|libel}}
{{legal policy list}}
The goal of [[Wikipedia]] is to create an [[encyclopedia|encyclopedic]] information source adhering to a [[Wikipedia:Neutral point of view|neutral point of view]], with [[reference]]d information through the [[citation]] of [[WP:Identifying reliable sources|reliable published sources]], so as to maintain a standard of [[Wikipedia:Verifiability|verifiability]].<ref name="Wales_2006-05-16_WikiEN-l" /> 

It is the responsibility of all contributors to ensure that the material posted on [[Wikipedia]] is not [[Defamation|defamatory]]. 

It is a [[WP:List of policies|Wikipedia policy]] to delete [[Defamation|libelous]] material when it has been identified.
==Contact instructions for subjects of libel==
If you believe that you are the subject of a libelous statement on Wikipedia, please:
* '''[mailto:info-en-q@wikipedia.org E-mail]''' us with details of the article and error. 

==See also==
===Policies===
*[[Wikipedia:No legal threats]]
*[[Wikipedia:No personal attacks]]
*[[Wikipedia:Biographies of living persons]]
===Other related pages===
*[[Wikipedia:Contact us]]
*[[Wikipedia:Legal disclaimer|Wikipedia does not give legal advice]]
*[[Wikipedia:An article about yourself isn't necessarily a good thing]]

==References==
{{Reflist|refs=

<!-- Order refs by Author, published, publisher -->
<ref name="Wales_2006-05-16_WikiEN-l">{{cite web
| url = http://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/wikien-l/2006-May/046440.html
| title = [WikiEN-l] Zero information is preferred to misleading or false information
| last = Wales
| first = Jimmy
| authorlink = Jimmy Wales
| work = lists.wikimedia.org
| publisher = WikiEN-l
| date = 2006-05-16
| accessdate = 2019-07-17
| archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20110406110126/http://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/wikien-l/2006-May/046440.html
| archivedate = 2011-04-06
| url-status = live
| quote = It should be removed, aggressively, unless it can be sourced. This is true of all information, but it is particularly true of negative information about living persons.
 }}</ref>

}}

==External links==
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20081010222530/http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/collective/A1183394 How to avoid libel and defamation] (2004)—Information from the [[BBC]] for contributors to its defunct community website, ''Action Network'', based on the English law of libel, which differs considerably from U.S. law. 
* [http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/1219/p02s01-usju.html Once it's on the Web, whose law applies?]
* [http://www.internetpolicy.net/jurisdiction/ Internet policy – Jurisdiction]
* [http://www.chillingeffects.org/defamation/faq.cgi Defamation FAQ at Chilling Effects Clearinghouse]

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[[Category:Wikipedia legal policies]]