Pretty Little Liars Wiki
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Pretty Little Liars Wiki

The Pretty Little Liars Wiki sourcing policy details the standards and expectations of referencing real life content on the wiki, and discusses verifiability. The purpose of this article is to reduce confusion and elevate understanding of what material requires sourcing and what doesn't. This article will also cover our preferred method/format of sourcing. If you aren't sure if a source is good or bad, or have questions on how to properly source something, please contact an active team member. We're here to help you!

What is a source?

The source of something is the person, place, or thing which you get it from.

A source is the primary place where information is found. It supports a claim being made and provides legitimacy to the article and the wiki as a whole. It also elevates that legitimacy and reliability of the user, as adding sources shows that the user is making a good faith edit and understands the need for transparency within the Fandom.

Good sources

Understanding what is or is not a good source, or reference, can be tricky within the media industry. It's important to remember that media outlets gain reliability based on a pattern of good information. They also work directly with the network or have access to the networks press site(s). This is a list of sources that are considered good for usage on TV/Movie wikis. This list is not complete, so please message an active administrator to discuss additional good sources.

  • Collider
  • Deadline
  • EW (aka) EntertainmentWeekly
  • IMDb - for actors and crew member appearances only. Please note that IMDb is reliable for appearances because it is edited by the individual themselves. However, the bigger the actor/crew member, the more uncertain IMDb becomes.
  • Just Jared and Just Jared Jr.
  • Official Accounts - either verified or known by the public to be the real individual.
    • Official TV accounts on social media will be verified with a gold checkmark for Twitter (or a matching network icon) and blue for Instagram/Facebook.
    • HBO Max verified accounts
    • Pretty Little Liars verified accounts
    • Tweets or social media posts from the cast and crew
    • Marlene King
    • Joseph Doughtry
    • Oliver Goldstick
    • Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa - Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin only
  • M3
  • Netflix
  • Official Press Sites
  • Parade
  • People
  • Screen Rant
  • Teen Vogue and Vogue
  • TV Fanatic
  • TV Guide
  • TV Critic
  • US Weekly

Bad sources

A bad source is one that is unreliable, not rooted in fact, or doesn't list where they obtained the information. Bad sources will often claim to have an "insider" or "a source within" but provide little-to-no proof of this claim. These sources often publish opinion pieces, blog posts, and false information to incite gossip around an IP. Their headlines may be rooted in clickbait or the release information only on social media. This is a list of sources that are considered bad for usage on TV/Movie wikis. This list is not complete, so please message an active administrator to discuss additional bad sources.

  • Blog posts or blog accounts
  • Flicks
  • Go Fug Yourself
  • IMDb - for episode titles and episode synopsis only. These titles are often added incorrectly by eager sources or individuals who have outdated information. It is always best to wait until they are released by a reputable source. Please note that episode synopsis can go wither way. IMDb often edits synopses to better fit their style and aesthetic. Which means the information might not be the best available.
  • Movie Web
  • Primetimer
  • Opinion pieces
  • Unverified social media accounts or Fan accounts
    • "Spoiler" accounts like @PLLBigA, @AngelaWalters, or @plloriginalsin
    • Unofficial YouTube accounts like @PrettyLittleLiarsFAM and @PrettyLittleLiarsOriginalSin

What is a Verified Account?

Verified accounts can be easily spotted on most social media sites, as they typically have a blue check mark next to their username. This indicates they have gone through a vetting process and are real, legitimate, and/or authorized to be tweeting from the account. Many times, an account for an actress or crew member will be verified, meaning that is the real person posting, not someone posing as them. Accounts such as HBO Max or Freeform are verified as they are the actual networks or companies primary social media page. On Twitter, these accounts will have a gold checkmark.

If an account is not verified please use discretion. Some cast or crew members might not have a verified account, but are followed by other verified users, meaning they are legitimate. If you have a concern over whether or not an account is a catfish or verified, please contact an admin and we will do our best to determine the authenticity of the user!

Violating the sourcing policy

Violating the sourcing policy may result in a ban, either from the specific page in which you added information, or from the entire wiki. Adding nonsense, unreliable, or disruptive, references is a violation. Chronically not adding sources to information is considered spam and/or trolling behavior. It is counterproductive to the wiki and its users, thus, is a violation of the policy. Warnings will be issued before any action is taken, unless the violation is egregious, in which a ban will be issued immediately. We reserve the right to ask any user to stop adding references at any time if it violates the policy.

Admins reserve the right to rollback, undo, or remove any source they don't deem suitable for this wiki. An explanation must always follow this course of action, and if you don't receive one within 48 hours, please kindly reach out to the admin yourself for context. Remember we are people too and may forget! An admin who frequently forgets may be asked to no longer revert references.

Punishments for violations can range from:

  • Being asked to not add any more reference
  • A ban from the specific page(s) the violation(s) took place on
  • A wiki-wide ban

Admins - please remember to attempt contacting a user before taking disciplinary action, unless it is an egregious offense. While this policy is mandatory for all users, some may find it difficult to understand or locate. Take the time to help and bring understanding!

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