Insert Wikipedia Link with Proper Formatting and Attribution
What it means
Insert Wikipedia Link with Proper Formatting and Attribution refers to adding a link to a Wikipedia article in a way that is clear, correctly formatted for the target platform, and gives appropriate credit to the source.
When to link
- Support a factual claim: Use Wikipedia when it summarizes well-established information.
- Provide background: Link for readers who need context or further reading.
- Avoid for original research or primary sourcing: Verify with primary sources when precision is required.
Formatting by platform
- HTML (web pages):
- Use target=”blank” to open in a new tab and rel=“noopener noreferrer” for security.
- Markdown (GitHub, many editors):
- MediaWiki (Wikipedia itself):
- Internal link:
[[Article Title]] - Piped text:
[[Article Title|Custom text]] - External link:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Article_Title External text]
- Internal link:
- Microsoft Word / Google Docs: Insert → Link, paste the full Wikipedia URL, set display text like “Article Title — Wikipedia”.
- Academic citations: Use a formal citation style (APA/MLA/Chicago) in footnotes or bibliography and include the Wikipedia URL and access date.
Attribution and licensing
- Wikipedia content is licensed under CC BY-SA and GFDL.
- If you reproduce more than short excerpts of Wikipedia text, you must:
- Attribute the article and author(s) per license requirements.
- Share-alike: Distribute derivative content under the same license (CC BY-SA) when required.
- For simple linking (not copying content), no special license text is required—just include the link and, where appropriate, a brief label like “— Wikipedia”.
Best practices
- Link to the specific article (not search results or main page).
- Use the article title as link text or include “— Wikipedia” so users know the destination.
- Prefer stable URLs: Use the canonical URL (no session/query strings); for a specific revision, link to the revision history URL if you need to freeze content.
- Verify accuracy: Check that the article supports your claim and note if the page is disputed or flagged.
- Avoid over-reliance: Use primary sources for critical claims; treat Wikipedia as a starting point.
Quick checklist before publishing
- Link points to the exact article.
- Link text clearly indicates Wikipedia.
- URL uses the canonical article path.
- No large verbatim excerpts without attribution and license compliance.
- For academic/official use, include a full citation with access date.
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