Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Tony Anthony (evangelist)


 * The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review).  No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was   delete. joe deckertalk to me 13:21, 19 March 2012 (UTC)

Tony Anthony (evangelist)

 * – ( View AfD View log )

Article relies on primary sources. It was deleted after WP:PROD for lack of verifiable/independent sources, then undeleted following this request in which an anon editor stated:
 * ''Tony Anthony is a well-known evangelist and author and his Wikipedia page had a removal request from people attempting to harm his story. We are seeking undeletion because there are a number of sources to verify the claims of Tony Anthony and we wish to have those stated on his Wikipedia page. -72.145.180.19 18:29, 2 January 2012 (UTC)

However, judging by the material that was added after the undeletion, these were still just primary and self-published sources. In the eight weeks since it was restored, I also tried to find sources; although I added the best that I could find, they are still not good enough to retain the article. On the article talk page and various user talk pages, multiple editors have questioned the veracity of Anthony's claims about himself. The article is not verifiable as required by WP:BLP and must therefore be deleted. – Fayenatic L (talk) 12:58, 1 March 2012 (UTC)
 * Note: This debate has been included in the list of Christianity-related deletion discussions. – Fayenatic L  (talk) 13:03, 1 March 2012 (UTC)


 * Delete Media coverage of Anthony appears to exclusively rely on his own account as a source. The most exhaustive research done on the man is the considerable investigation detailed here (it's a loooong thread to read through, give yourself a couple of hours...), but since it's on an open discussion forum it's unusable per WP:RS. In the absence of any coverage in reliable sources that doesn't stem directly from the subject himself, I can't see this passes WP:GNG. Yunshui 雲&zwj;水 13:09, 1 March 2012 (UTC)

Delete for reasons stated. His is not, unfortunately, an especially remarkable life and the only suggestion of notability is that he has published a book about his experiences. The problem is that this is the obly source for most of the detail in the article, and is the background to most of the other sources. Emeraude (talk) 13:13, 1 March 2012 (UTC)
 * His life is pretty remarkable (kung fu world champion, elite bodyguard, murderer, tiger-tamer, desert survivalist etc.), but only if you believe his own account - which most people who've made even the most cursory investigation don't. Yunshui 雲&zwj;水 14:00, 1 March 2012 (UTC)

I'm not all sure if i'm editing this correctly. forgive me if I am not ! It is already clear that there is no independent, verifiable evidence of the validity of Anthony's claims about himself. There is a great deal of evidence avaialable that strongly indicates that the claims are implausible. Anthony has been directly challenged with much of this evidence on a number of occasions and I am not aware of any realistic refutation of those challenges. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Roundhse (talk • contribs) 17:02, 1 March 2012 (UTC)
 * The above comment appears to be in support of the proposal to Delete the page. – Fayenatic L (talk) 16:49, 12 March 2012 (UTC)
 * Note: This debate has been included in the list of Authors-related deletion discussions.  • Gene93k (talk) 18:45, 1 March 2012 (UTC)


 * Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion so a clearer consensus may be reached.


 * Please add new comments below this notice. Thanks, Martijn Hoekstra (talk) 01:33, 12 March 2012 (UTC)


 * Note: This debate has been included in the list of England-related deletion discussions. – Fayenatic L  (talk) 16:43, 12 March 2012 (UTC)
 * Note: This debate has been included in the list of Cyprus-related deletion discussions. – Fayenatic L  (talk) 16:43, 12 March 2012 (UTC)
 * Note: This debate has been included in the list of Martial arts-related deletion discussions. – Fayenatic L  (talk) 16:43, 12 March 2012 (UTC)


 * Delete There seems to be no independent support for any of his many claims. Astudent0 (talk) 17:53, 12 March 2012 (UTC)
 * Delete - evidence is too unreliable. I wouldn't rule out War Cry as a valid source for notability purposes, but I'm not happy with using it as a reference for criminal acts, even if the subject claims to have committed them. If a newspaper reports a criminal conviction, you can be reasonably sure they are reporting on a decision of a court, but in this case they appear to be relying solely on Tony Anthony's own story. I don't like challenging the accuracy of sources, but there is very little in this article I would be confident of as being fact. Chris Neville-Smith (talk) 20:17, 12 March 2012 (UTC)
 * (with some regret) delete -- He appears to run one-man ministry, which is unlikely to be notable. Newspaper articles on his convictions are presumably WP:RS.  Published autobiographies ought to have eben verified to some extnet by the publisher, unless they are truly self-published.  Nevertheless, he appears NN to me.  Peterkingiron (talk) 15:55, 18 March 2012 (UTC)
 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.