Wikipedia:Mediation Cabal/Cases/2011-05-31/

Where is the dispute?
The "Reception" section of Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother.

Who is involved?
The list of the users involved. For example:


 * noplaceforpolitics
 * CliffC

Acceptance of Mediation
Please place your signature here to indicate that you are aware of this mediation process and want to participate in it:
 * Noplaceforpolitics (talk) 05:19, 31 May 2011 (UTC)

What is the dispute?
CliffC has categorically deleted all references to Donald Trump's endorsement of various books about China, specifically in Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. He calls the Los Angeles Times link to Trump's endorsement "spam", even though nothing and nobody are being "promoted" per se in the linked article, and despite the fact that blanket statements/deletions like that of CliffC are clearly a violation of Wikipedia policy. His only original explanation was that "Trump's favorites are irrelevant," which is obviously HIS own personal opinion rather than an objective administrative explanation that is required for deletions.

When asked in Talk:Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother to give additional explanation for his deletions, CliffC once again only offer HIS personal opinion: "He's just a celebrity who happens to have something to say." One can just as easily argue that Donald Trump is an authority in the global arena, an expert on Sino-American relations, and a best-selling author who is knowledgeable in the literary and publishing industry, and therefore more than qualified to endorse Amy Chua's book (and have his endorsement referenced in the Reception section of the article).

Moreover, as per editorial review, The Los Angeles Times is a reliable source to link to from Wikipedia, and Trump, as a best-selling author of numerous books and a commentator on various news shows and newspapers, does in fact fall under editorial review.

Lastly, despite WP:OTHERSTUFFEXISTS, I would like to point out for the record that there is precedent for references to celebrity endorsements on Wikipedia, e.g. referencing Quentin Tarantino's "20 favorite movies of 2010" on articles for various movies including Tangled and Toy Story 3. CliffC's argument to this is that "Tarantino is an acknowledged expert in the field upon which he is commenting," however, 1) Tarantino is NOT an expert on cartoons despite what CliffC is inclined to believe (and even if Tarantino is an expert on cartoons it is incumbant on CliffC to cite this fact), and 2) as specified above, Donald Trump is, too, an acknowledged expert in the field upon which he is commenting. Perhaps CliffC's personal and political opinion of Trump prevents him from agreeing with this, however, as I have said, there is no place on Wikipedia for CliffC's politics.

What would you like to change about this?
1) I would like Wikipedia to agree to keep the Los Angeles Times link to Donald Trump's endorsement of Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother in the Reception section of said article.

2) I would like Wikipedia to revert the deletions of the same link placed by other contributors in various other book/author articles of books that Trump has endorsed, and/or allow the link to stay on said articles if I place it there later.

How do you think we can help?
1) Make an objective, unbiased final decision if is a qualifiable link for the Reception sections of articles about the books Trump has endorsed, including but not limited to Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother.

2) Send an official reminder to user User:CliffC that he should not incorporate his personal and/or political beliefs when editing articles, and remind him not to make wholesale, blanket deletions of edits, including links, without before inspecting the validity of each specific link and firstly discussing it with the user on the Discussion pages of those articles.