Metopedia style is direct, sourced, analytical, and inspectable. Pages must allow a reader to identify what is known, what is claimed, what is inferred, what is disputed, and what remains unresolved.

Metopedia does not use the style of a debate forum, promotional biography, anonymous blog, social-media thread, press release, or advocacy pamphlet. A page may reach a strong conclusion, but the conclusion must be earned through evidence and method.

Core writing rule

Metopedia style guide
Type	Editorial standard
Applies to	Articles, fact checks, investigations, evidence records, policy pages, help pages, captions, tables, and notes
Core rule	Write so that evidence, interpretation, inference, uncertainty, and conclusion remain visually and logically separable.
Related pages	Metopedia:Article standards, Metopedia:Source standards, Metopedia:Research method, Metopedia:Accessibility standards, Metopedia:File and media standards

Every page must make the following distinction visible:

Layer	Meaning	Style requirement
Evidence	Source material, data, records, images, quotations, logs, documents, files, or direct observations.	Present plainly, cite precisely, and avoid exaggeration.
Analysis	The process used to examine evidence.	Explain steps, assumptions, limitations, and competing interpretations.
Inference	A conclusion drawn from evidence but not directly stated by the source.	Mark as inference and tie it to the evidence supporting it.
Claim	A statement being examined.	Identify who made it, where it appears, and what standard is used to test it.
Conclusion	The page’s finding after review.	Match certainty to evidence strength.

Tone

Metopedia uses a neutral analytical tone. Neutral does not mean passive, vague, or unwilling to identify error. It means the page must not rely on mockery, emotional pressure, tribal signaling, or unsupported certainty.

Use:

direct statements;
specific nouns;
active verbs;
dated events;
named documents;
clear evidence categories;
explicit limits;
exact claim wording where available.

Avoid:

insults;
sarcasm as argument;
rhetorical certainty without evidence;
exaggerated labels;
unsupported motive claims;
mass generalizations;
unexplained acronyms;
“obviously,” “clearly,” or “everyone knows” when evidence is doing the work.

Good style

The record supports the narrower conclusion that the platform removed the item without a public itemized explanation. It does not establish who requested the removal.

Weak style

This proves the whole institution is corrupt and everyone involved knew exactly what they were doing.

The weak version jumps from evidence to motive and scope without support.

Article titles

Titles must be recognizable, specific, and stable.

Page type	Preferred title style	Example
Concept	Noun phrase	Cognitive Dissonance Avoidance
Fact check	Question or claim title beginning with “Fact Check:”	Fact Check: Do Masks Prevent the Spread of Viruses?
Investigation	Subject plus evidence focus	Figshare and Zenodo DOI Removals
Method	Method name	Lehti-Feynman Method
Policy	Metopedia namespace plus function	Metopedia:Source standards
Help	Help namespace plus task	Help:Contributor help

Titles must not be clickbait, insults, slogans, or verdicts unless the verdict is the subject of the page itself. Use redirects for alternate spellings and common search terms.

Lead section

The first paragraph must answer what the page is about. It must not begin with background drift, rhetorical setup, or a long historical preface.

A strong lead includes:

the subject;
the page type;
the central question or claim;
the scope limit;
the conclusion if the page is a fact check or finished investigation.

For fact checks, the lead may state the verdict. For investigations, the lead must distinguish documented facts from open questions.

Headings

Headings must describe the topic or purpose of the section. Use a logical hierarchy and avoid skipping levels.

Recommended order for long analytical pages:

Lead
Scope
Background
Claim or question examined
Evidence record
Method
Analysis
Counterarguments
Limitations
Conclusion
See also
References

Do not use headings as jokes, accusations, or rhetorical questions unless the page type requires it. Avoid vague headings such as “More,” “Important,” “Thoughts,” or “Interesting.”

Paragraphs

Use short paragraphs for public readability. A paragraph normally handles one claim, one piece of evidence, one example, or one step in reasoning.

Long blocks are acceptable only when preserving correspondence, source excerpts, logs, or formal notices. Use blockquotes, collapsible sections, tables, or evidence boxes when long text must remain intact.

Claim-strength wording

Metopedia uses evidence-weighted wording.

Wording	Use	Avoid using when
Confirmed	Direct evidence establishes the fact.	The evidence is indirect, disputed, or incomplete.
Supported	Multiple reliable sources or strong evidence support the claim.	A single weak source is doing the work.
Likely	The evidence favors the claim but leaves alternatives.	The claim is established or unsupported.
Possible	The claim has a plausible basis but insufficient proof.	It is being used as a disguised conclusion.
Alleged	A source or person makes the claim.	The page is asserting the claim as fact.
Reported	A source reports the event or statement.	The report has been independently confirmed.
Unverified	The claim lacks independent confirmation.	The page has enough evidence to reach a stronger status.
Unsupported	Available evidence does not support the claim.	Evidence has not been reviewed.
Contradicted	Stronger evidence conflicts with the claim.	Only disagreement or opinion exists.

Use “alleged” for accusation status, not as a stylistic shield for every controversial claim.

Citations

Citations must support the sentence or paragraph they follow. A citation must not be attached to a paragraph it does not substantiate.

Basic rules:

cite primary sources where possible;
cite the exact page, document, archive, DOI, timestamp, or file when available;
use secondary sources for interpretation, context, and comparison;
identify archived copies when pages are unstable;
avoid circular citation chains;
do not cite social media as proof of a fact unless the post itself is the evidence;
do not cite AI output as a primary source.

Use standard MediaWiki reference syntax:

The record was removed on June 2, 2022.<ref>Zenodo tombstone page, record 10.5281/zenodo.6536389, accessed May 14, 2026.</ref>

== References ==

<references />

For repeated references, use named references:

<ref name="nist-chain">NIST CSRC Glossary, “Chain of Custody.” https://csrc.nist.gov/glossary/term/chain_of_custody</ref>

Quotations

Quotes must be accurate, limited, and necessary. Use quotations when exact wording matters. Paraphrase when the exact wording is not essential.

A quotation requires:

source;
speaker or author when known;
date when known;
context;
no alteration of meaning.

Use brackets for necessary clarification and ellipses for omitted text. Do not use ellipses to alter the meaning of the quoted material.

External links

External links belong in citations, references, source tables, or a limited external-links section. Avoid turning the body of an article into a link list.

Preferred link types:

official documents;
archived pages;
DOI records;
primary-source repositories;
public records;
source data;
technical specifications;
stable institutional pages.

Avoid linking to unstable mirrors, affiliate pages, SEO farms, or pages that mainly reproduce material without adding source value.

Tables

Tables are useful for evidence records, comparisons, timelines, verdict summaries, and source hierarchies. They must not be used only for decoration.

A good table has:

short column headings;
consistent row structure;
no hidden conclusion inside a label;
citations where claims are made;
readable text on mobile;
a caption or preceding sentence explaining its function.

Avoid wide tables when a list is clearer. If a table must be wide, keep columns short and avoid long paragraphs inside cells.

Images and captions

Images must support the page’s evidence, explanation, or navigation. They are not decorative filler.

Every image requires:

source;
author or creator where known;
license or fair-use rationale;
caption;
alt text or equivalent accessible description where the image carries meaning;
date or provenance where relevant.

Captions must explain why the image matters. Do not write captions that only repeat the filename.

File names

File names must be descriptive, stable, and searchable. Use plain words separated by hyphens or underscores. Avoid random camera filenames unless the original filename itself has evidentiary value.

Good:

Apollo-17-GPN-2000-001137-IDA-comparison.png
Metopedia-policy-review-table-2026-05-14.pdf
Figshare-removal-notice-2026-04-21.png

Weak:

image1.png
screenshot_final_final2.png
thing.jpg

Disputed claims

A disputed claim must be framed as a claim, not smuggled into the article as fact.

Use this structure:

State the representative claim.
Identify who makes it or where it appears.
Define the scope of the page’s review.
Present evidence for and against.
Separate direct evidence from inference.
Give a conclusion with evidence-weighted wording.

Living persons

Pages involving living persons require extra restraint. Claims about conduct, criminality, deception, medical condition, personal identity, or private life require strong sourcing and careful wording.

Do not include private addresses, personal phone numbers, private family details, doxxing material, irrelevant employment information, or speculation about mental state.

Original research

Metopedia permits original analysis when it is transparent. Original research must show its method, sources, assumptions, and limits.

A page must not use original research to hide unsupported certainty. It must show how a reader can inspect or reproduce the reasoning.

AI-assisted writing and research

AI tools may assist with drafting, formatting, summarizing, search planning, code generation, comparison, and proofreading. AI output is not a source of fact by itself.

When AI materially affects a page, editors must verify claims against primary or reliable secondary sources. AI-generated citations must be checked before use. Fabricated citations, invented quotations, and unsupported paraphrases must be removed.

Templates

Use templates to improve consistency, not to hide weak content. Infoboxes, hatnotes, evidence boxes, fact-check verdict boxes, and maintenance notices must match the page’s purpose.

An infobox is helpful when the page has stable metadata. It is not required for every short page.

Maintenance notices

Maintenance notices must identify the problem clearly. Examples include missing citations, unclear scope, disputed neutrality, insufficient evidence, dead links, accessibility problems, or incomplete source preservation.

A notice must not be used as a weapon in a dispute. Add a talk-page explanation when the issue is complex.

Final review checklist

Before publishing or marking a page as stable, check that:

the lead identifies the subject and scope;
major claims are cited;
claim strength matches evidence strength;
evidence and inference are separated;
counterarguments are included when relevant;
quotations are accurate;
images have source, license, caption, and accessible description;
tables are readable;
categories are present;
references display correctly;
the page does not contain private, defamatory, or unsupported accusations;
the conclusion does not exceed the evidence.

Metopedia style guide