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However, although Wikipedia articles are tertiary sources, Wikipedia employs no systematic mechanism for fact-checking or accuracy. Thus, Wikipedia articles (and Wikipedia mirrors) in themselves are not reliable sources for any purpose (except as sources on themselves per WP:SELFSOURCE). Primary sources are often difficult to use appropriately.
Wikipedia pages often cite reliable secondary sources that vet data from primary sources. If the information on another Wikipedia page (which you want to cite as the source) has a primary or secondary source, you ought be able to cite that primary or secondary source and eliminate the middleman (or "middle-page" in this case).
For instance, otherwise unreliable self-published sources are usually acceptable to support uncontroversial information about the source's author. You should always try to use the best possible source, particularly when writing about living people. These are general guidelines, but the topic of reliable sources is a complicated one, and is ...
Wikipedia:Wikipedia as an academic source – list of academic works citing Wikipedia as a source. Reference resources. Help:Find sources – a place that helps access reliable sources. Wikipedia:Book sources – links to catalogs of libraries, booksellers, and other book sources where you can search for the book by its ISBN identifier .
This means that reliable sources must be able to support the material. All quotations, any material whose verifiability has been challenged or is likely to be challenged, and contentious material (whether negative, positive, or neutral) about living persons must include an inline citation to a source that directly supports the material.
The best way you can be a reliable source is to strictly adhere to the guidelines pertaining to them. This means to cite all information you add to articles, to be sure all information is verifiable, and not to include original research in your additions. If you get known for being a reliable source--that is, for using authoritative sources ...
Sources accepted as reliable for Wikipedia may rely on Wikipedia as a reference source, sometimes indirectly. If the original information in Wikipedia was false, once it has been reported in sources considered reliable, Wikipedia can use them to reference the false information, giving an apparent credibility to falsehood.
A third-party source from one article may be treated as an auxiliary source in another, because the focus has changed. [6] Generally, any source that does not qualify as a reliable third-party source is grouped in this category. The use of these raw, first-hand, or out-of-date sources lends itself to inaccurate reporting, undue weight, and ...