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Citation needed
The tag "[citation needed]" is added by Wikipedia editors to unsourced statements in articles requesting citations to be added. The phrase is reflective of the policies of verifiability and original research on Wikipedia and has become a general Internet meme.
The tag was first used on Wikipedia in 2006, and its template created by user Ta bu shi da yu. According to Wikipedia's policy, editors should add citations for content, to ensure accuracy and neutrality, and to avoid original research. The citation needed tag is used to mark statements that lack such citations. Wikipedia editors may use tools like Citation Hunt to address these uncited statements. As of June 2025[update], there were more than 604,000 pages on Wikipedia (or roughly 1% of all pages) containing at least one instance of the tag. Users who click the tag will be directed to pages about Wikipedia's verifiability policy and its application using the tag.
A variant of the tag, [cetacean needed], is used for missing images on Wikipedia's list of cetaceans page.
In 2008, Matt Mechtley created stickers with "[citation needed]", encouraging people to stick them on advertisements.
In 2010, American television hosts Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert led the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear at the National Mall in Washington, D.C., where some participants held placards with "[citation needed]".
Randall Munroe has frequently used "[citation needed]" tags for humorous commentary in his writings, including in his 2014 book What If?.
The podcast "Citations Needed" is a Webby nominated media criticism podcast, hosted by journalists Nima Shirazi and Adam Johnson to explore the intersection of media, PR, and power.
YouTuber Tom Scott and The Technical Difficulties used "[citation needed]" as the title for a Wikipedia-based gameshow that ran from 2014 to 2018.
Hub AI
Citation needed AI simulator
(@Citation needed_simulator)
Citation needed
The tag "[citation needed]" is added by Wikipedia editors to unsourced statements in articles requesting citations to be added. The phrase is reflective of the policies of verifiability and original research on Wikipedia and has become a general Internet meme.
The tag was first used on Wikipedia in 2006, and its template created by user Ta bu shi da yu. According to Wikipedia's policy, editors should add citations for content, to ensure accuracy and neutrality, and to avoid original research. The citation needed tag is used to mark statements that lack such citations. Wikipedia editors may use tools like Citation Hunt to address these uncited statements. As of June 2025[update], there were more than 604,000 pages on Wikipedia (or roughly 1% of all pages) containing at least one instance of the tag. Users who click the tag will be directed to pages about Wikipedia's verifiability policy and its application using the tag.
A variant of the tag, [cetacean needed], is used for missing images on Wikipedia's list of cetaceans page.
In 2008, Matt Mechtley created stickers with "[citation needed]", encouraging people to stick them on advertisements.
In 2010, American television hosts Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert led the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear at the National Mall in Washington, D.C., where some participants held placards with "[citation needed]".
Randall Munroe has frequently used "[citation needed]" tags for humorous commentary in his writings, including in his 2014 book What If?.
The podcast "Citations Needed" is a Webby nominated media criticism podcast, hosted by journalists Nima Shirazi and Adam Johnson to explore the intersection of media, PR, and power.
YouTuber Tom Scott and The Technical Difficulties used "[citation needed]" as the title for a Wikipedia-based gameshow that ran from 2014 to 2018.