Ikwipedia:Acceptable sources

Ikwipedia allows a wider range of sources than Wikipedia, including purely testimonial and unverified primary sources, to address topics that lack substantial secondary coverage by reliable sources. Any material that is evidential, testimonial, or otherwise traceable to a person with relevant personal knowledge is acceptable.

Overview

Ikwipedia permits any information that can be traced to purported evidence, including witness testimony. Information must be reported neutrally and transparently. An acceptable source is any source that either (a) is based on verifiable evidence or direct access to evidential material, or (b) presents a claim that can be traced—either directly or through a documented chain of transmission—to a named or described witness, i.e. a person claiming personal knowledge of the matter, whether by seeing, hearing, experiencing, or otherwise perceiving it.

Acceptable sources

Sources are acceptable if they originate in — or can be reliably traced to—evidence or the testimony of a person claiming direct knowledge. This includes materials that are evidential in themselves (such as recordings, documents, or physical artifacts), as well as statements made by witnesses who describe what they experienced or perceived.

Acceptable sources include:

Firsthand and nth-hand accounts — Written, spoken, or recorded statements describing events or information perceived directly or relayed by a source claiming direct knowledge. The person making the claim does not need to be named, but the source must describe or attribute the claim to someone—real, pseudonymous, or anonymous—who is alleged to have personal knowledge of the matter. This includes secondhand or relayed claims when the speaker identifies their source (e.g. “a technician told me…”), allowing the chain of transmission to be evaluated. It is not necessary for the claim to be independently verified, only that it can be attributed.

Documents — Textual or multimedia artifacts that can be cited as items of evidence or as sources of testimony, including leaked, internal, or declassified material when their origin or content is described.

Descriptions of purported evidence — Accounts describing observed, reviewed, or relayed evidence, including statements like “I saw a document” or “a recording was played for me.” These are acceptable when the claim is traceable to someone who asserts personal access or observation.

Interpretive analysis — Research, commentary, or synthesis that organizes or explains evidential or testimonial material, even if informally or independently published. Such analysis must make clear what evidence, source, or testimony it is based on and must not be presented as fact unless the underlying material supports that characterization.

Unacceptable sources

Sources are not acceptable if they consist of unattributed assertions with no identifiable origin or chain of inference based on acceptable sources.

Use of sources and editorialization

Editors (including you!) may include substantial excerpts from testimonial or evidential sources when relevant and appropriately contextualized. Long quotes, transcripts, or summaries of documents or interviews are permitted, especially in areas lacking formal or secondary reporting. The nature of the source should be identified either in the article text or citation.

Conflicting claims should be presented in accordance with the Ikwipedia:Manual of Style. Editorial comments describing patterns, inconsistencies, or corroboration are permitted when phrased neutrally and kept within the limits of editorial synthesis. Editors may draw comparisons, highlight common themes, or offer interpretive framing to help structure the material.