Independent Sources: What Counts and What Doesn't
Marketing Ops · Cyber Elite Team
Press releases and their reprints are not independent, however widely syndicated
A press release distributed through a newswire and picked up by dozens of outlets is still one source repeated many times, not many independent sources, since none of those outlets did original reporting or editorial evaluation. Wikipedia editors specifically watch for this pattern and generally discount it entirely when assessing notability.
Interviews and bylined guest articles fail the independence test
An interview, where the subject is answering questions in their own words, and a guest article written by someone at the company itself are both primary sources from the subject’s own perspective, not independent editorial coverage. A journalist’s own reporting and analysis about the subject is what counts; the subject’s own words about themselves generally does not.
Sponsored content and paid placements do not count regardless of the publication's prestige
An article published as sponsored content or a paid placement in even a highly reputable outlet is commercially influenced by definition, and Wikipedia’s guidelines specifically exclude this kind of coverage from counting toward notability, no matter how prestigious the publication’s regular editorial coverage is.
What does count: original reporting, analysis, and significant editorial attention
A journalist independently researching and writing about a subject, without payment or coordination from the subject, in a publication with editorial oversight, is the actual standard. It does not need to be flattering, and it needs to devote real substance to the subject rather than a passing mention.
Our Wikipedia team vets every proposed source against this standard before a draft is ever submitted.
