Template:Dubious
Add {{Dubious}} after a specific statement or alleged fact that is sourced but that nevertheless seems dubious or unlikely. Most commonly, this involves uncertainty regarding the veracity or accuracy of the given source, or of an editor's interpretation of that source.
Purpose
The purposes of this template are:
- to point out uncertainty over conflicting sources
- to question the veracity, accuracy, or methodology employed by a given source
- to express concerns that the source may have been misinterpreted
- to alert editors that additional sources need to be found, to ascertain the statement's validity
Note: Refer to the Incorrect uses section below for examples of inappropriate uses, and suggested alternatives.
Usage
When using this template, it is strongly suggested to simultaneously discuss the dubious statement on the article's talk page – and to point this template to a specific talk page section (either new or existing) which contains that discussion. To do so, use the following syntax:
{{Dubious|Talk section name}}- Note, do not include Talk:PAGE#, just the section title.
Do not add this template to a page more than a reasonable number of times. Please consider using one of the other templates mentioned below instead.
Parameters
|1=Talk section name– the first field should point to the section name on the talk page which contains the discussion. Alias:|talk=.- If the section name contains an equal sign, use the following syntax:
{{Dubious|1=Does x = 5?}}. - Other special characters used in section names (such as brackets, "[" and "]") may need to be encoded. For example, the markup:
- If the section name contains an equal sign, use the following syntax:
|date=– the month and year when the template was added. Example:|date=April 2025.|reason=– Because it may not be immediately apparent to other editors what about the tagged passage is questionable, it may be helpful to add a brief reason for the tag:{{Dubious|reason=What the problem is}}(this is preferable to using an HTML<!-- comment -->after the tag, as it is tidier to keep all of the{{Dubious}}-related code inside the template). If the explanation would be lengthy, use the article's talk page. As well as being visible in the source code for editors' benefit, thereasonparameter is, if provided, displayed as a tooltip when the mouse is hovered over the "dubious" part of the rendered text in the article.
Incorrect uses
This template is not to be used
- to directly challenge a sourced statement as being incorrect (with sources to back up your claim). Use {{Disputed-inline}} instead.
- to flag unsourced statements, unless you think they are incorrect. Use {{Citation needed}} instead.
- to question the reliability / verifiability of a source. Use {{Unreliable source?}} instead.
- to request verification whether the source in fact says as the statement claims. Use {{Verify source}} instead.
- to request that a difficult-to-understand statement be re-written. Use {{Clarify}} instead.
If you believe that a statement is both unverifiable and probably wrong, then you should consider removing it from the article (and perhaps copying it to the talk page with an explanation) instead of tagging it.
TemplateData
TemplateData for Dubious
Use this template to tag a specific statement or alleged fact that is sourced but which nevertheless seems dubious or unlikely to be correct.
| Parameter | Description | Type | Status | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Section name on talk page | 1 | Section name on talk page where further information or discussion can be found | String | optional |
| Month and year | date | Month and year of tagging; e.g., 'January 2013', but not 'jan13'
| String | suggested |
| reason | reason | A brief summary of the problem, to be displayed on hover | String | optional |