User:Dpe12/Choose an Article

Article Selection
Please list articles that you're considering for your Wikipedia assignment below. Begin to critique these articles and find relevant sources.

Option 1

 * Article title
 * 2020 United States Elections


 * Article Evaluation
 * This article is one that contains plenty of information about the 2020 election, but in terms of references to the inadequate use of the word communism or using the term "radical" as a scare tactic, etc, it does not have very much information. It touches on the idea by saying that the rhetoric of Trump and his allies during the election campaign was marked by frequent use of falsehoods and promotion of unfounded conspiracy theories and that Republicans depicted Democrats who were running as moderates as extremists or secret "socialists" who held radical views on criminal justice or climate legislation, but does not expand past this. In doing so, it may portray Trump and Republicans in somewhat of a negative light, but realistically this is simply telling the truth about the occurrences of the election. It does have sources for its substantial claims, yet seems to get information from most of the same news websites which could be perceived as inadequate. The article does not tackle an inequity gap of historically underrepresented or misrepresented populations or subjects.


 * Sources
 * https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/24/us/politics/joe-biden-police.html
 * https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/26/us/politics/senate-iowa-ernst-greenfield.html
 * https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-convention-falsehoods/2020/08/27/41a07f5a-e888-11ea-970a-64c73a1c2392_story.html

Option 2

 * Article title
 * 2020 United States Presidential Election


 * Article Evaluation
 * This article is very well written, and delves into many of the issues that were ever-present in the presidential election. It depicts the tumultuous nature of the entire process; however, I believe there should be a section added on Donald Trump's constant references of Joe Biden as a "socialist" or "communist" and campaign promises to save America from socialism and/or communism that would occur under the leadership of Joe Biden. This was an important idea to Trump and his followers, which should be explained in this page. Besides this, the article is written neutrally and explains the ideas of both candidates equally. It also does not endorse either candidate or state any stances on specific issues. It uses citations for its main ideas and backs up claims with sources, many of which have differing origins. It does not tackle one of Wikipedia's equity gaps or coverage of historically underrepresented or misrepresented populations or subjects, but the presidential election is an event that certainly must be explained.


 * Sources
 * https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2020/oct/15/donald-trump/trumps-false-claim-biden-socialist/
 * https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/14/business/socialist-biden-trump.html
 * https://fredericksburg.com/opinion/commentary-joe-biden-is-no-socialist-donald-trump-is-no-capitalist/article_a715bb76-a792-5010-bbe4-02b95c363a68.html
 * https://globalnews.ca/video/7163934/trump-calls-biden-a-puppet-of-socialism

Option 3

 * Article title
 * Lena Horne


 * Article Evaluation
 * This article accurately discusses Lena Horne and her life/career, depicting both her acting and singing that allowed her to rise to fame. It included details such as who she worked with and the movies she worked in, which allows readers to understand her talents and what her life was about in that regard. The Civil Rights Activism section of the article, however, does not really explain what caused her to be blacklisted by the government and involved in McCarthyism and the second red scare. Her name is listed as an individual who was effected by this, but her page depicts her as a democrat who partook in some activism, and not much else. The article is well cited and includes evidence to support the information it contains about her, there just should be more on the activism part of her life in addition to her acting. This additionally would increase coverage of historically underrepresented or misrepresented populations or subjects, as there are less women represented in Wikipedia than men, especially on this topic.


 * Sources
 * https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2015/08/the-red-baiting-of-lena-horne/398291/
 * https://www.nycitynewsservice.com/2010/09/fbi-tracked-lena-hornes-activist-life/
 * https://www.nps.gov/features/malu/feat0002/wof/lena_horne.htm

Option 4

 * Article title
 * Ruth Gordon


 * Article Evaluation
 * This article talks about Gordon's early life, schooling, relationships, and career as an actress, screenwriter, and playwright. It lists and describes the works that she took part in, but it does not talk about her involvement with politics or communism at all. Her name was listened as someone who was effected by McCarthyism in the second red scare as well, but this is not discussed in any way on her page. Exploration into this would help to cover historically underrepresented or misrepresented populations or subjects, as it is odd that yet another woman listed as a possible twentieth century communist does not have an adequate explanation of her actual involvement. The article is well cited and includes evidence to support the information it contains about her, but I believe there should be additional information on this.


 * Sources
 * https://www.pri.org/stories/2018-12-20/forgotten-women-blacklist
 * https://www.natcom.org/communication-currents/women-and-broadcast-blacklist

Option 5

 * Article title
 * Gypsy Rose Lee


 * Article Evaluation
 * Lee had a very interesting life, and this article explains an her as American burlesque entertainer and vedette who ultimately found great success in what she did. However besides saying that she spoke at various union meetings in support of New York laborers and made five films in Hollywood before her acting was generally panned, it does not explain why she was listened in those effected by McCarthyism and the second red scare. The referenced Hollywood ban certainly has something to do with the well-known blacklist created for potential communists, but this aspect of her life is not explored at all. I would like to discover and add more information about her political involvement, as there must be more than what is included. This also would help to alleviate an equity gap, as she of course is a woman and therefore is not only less represented on Wikipedia as a whole, but specifically on the McCarthyism list.


 * Sources
 * http://archives.nypl.org/the/21402
 * https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/authors/interviews/article/45655-the-monday-interview-with-karen-abbott.html