Wikipedia:Coup

This is an essay on two core policies of Wikipedia; maintaining a neutral point of view and verifiability. It contains the advice or opinions of one or more Wikipedia contributors. This page is not an encyclopedia article, nor is it one of Wikipedia's policies or guidelines, as it has not been thoroughly vetted by the community. Some essays represent widespread norms; others only represent minority viewpoints.

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This page in a nutshell: The word "coup" is a loaded word with negative connotations. To conform with Wikipedia's policy of neutral point of view, the word should not be used in articles, unless this word is widely used by multiple reliable sources that are independent of one another.

Wikipedia policy requires content to have a neutral point of view, with this policy being one of the five main pillars and three core policies of Wikipedia. Recently, the legitimacy of an uprising against a government has been determined by terminology used about the event; a "revolution" is warranted and applauded while a "coup" is illegal and condemned.^[1]

Another core policy, the verifiability policy, requires material added to Wikipedia to be supported by reliable sources. Reliable sources differ on naming certain events as a coup and should be relied upon for content added on Wikipedia.

Use of the word "coup" in an article title should be avoided unless the term is widely used by reliable sources. The use of "coup" should be avoided in Wikipedia article bodies unless discussing an event has been named a "coup" by reliable sources.