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Talk:Ben Roberts-Smith

War criminal in first sentence

Last year there was consensus established that he should not be called a war criminal in the first sentence as there has not been a criminal conviction perWP:BLPCRIME among other reasons. As a result the second sentence specifying what a civil court found was added to. We should not be adding war criminal in wikivoice now unless there's been a criminal conviction. 2001:8F8:1D63:6485:17CD:3B73:BC40:4AD0 (talk) 04:01, 8 May 2024 (UTC)2001:8F8:1D63:6485:17CD:3B73:BC40:4AD0 (talk · contribs) is a sock puppet of Orchomen (talk · contribs). [reply]

The judge said he is a war criminal, so we can too. HiLo48 (talk) 04:17, 8 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
The judge did not say he was a war criminal. That's specifically why the opening sentences are currently constructed the way they are after extensive discussion last year. The established version should stand until a new consensus is established - and given the restrictions of BLP:CRIME it must be a very strong one. 94.200.83.10 (talk) 05:02, 8 May 2024 (UTC) 94.200.83.10 (talk · contribs) is a sock puppet of Orchomen (talk · contribs). [reply]
Hello old friend. IP hoping around the United Arab Emirates isn't going to stop you getting blocked. TarnishedPathtalk 05:38, 8 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Both IPs above are me. I've started an RfC below, so we can establish if there's a new consensus. For the what it's worth I think he 'is' a war criminal, but I don't think per WP:BLPCRIME we can call him that without an actual conviction 94.200.83.10 (talk) 05:56, 8 May 2024 (UTC) 94.200.83.10 (talk · contribs) is a sock puppet of Orchomen (talk · contribs). [reply]
Don't worry mate. We'll have you seen too and then everyone can forget you exist for a while. TarnishedPathtalk 05:57, 8 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
@Bbb23, the IP hopper from United Arab Emerites is back engaging in their usual disruption. They've reverted the article with three seperate IPs to maintain a version they like. TarnishedPathtalk 05:56, 8 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
It's not the version I like - it's the policy and consensus compliant version. 94.200.83.10 (talk) 06:01, 8 May 2024 (UTC) 94.200.83.10 (talk · contribs) is a sock puppet of Orchomen (talk · contribs). [reply]
and you are a blocked editor that's evading their block. You shouldn't be editing Wikipedia. TarnishedPathtalk 06:04, 8 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
If you think I'm a blocked editor go ahead and start an SPI. In the meantime you cannot ignore policy and consensus.
Even in the body of the article he is not called a war criminal. We can't use it in the lead sentence. 94.200.83.10 (talk) 06:08, 8 May 2024 (UTC) 94.200.83.10 (talk · contribs) is a sock puppet of Orchomen (talk · contribs). [reply]
You've now reverted a fouth time in 24 hours between your varoius IP address. I suggest your self-revert immediatly. I'll be lodging a report for your edit warring. TarnishedPathtalk 06:16, 8 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Ps, your editing habits don't lie. You're @Orchomen, aka @Gugrak, aka @Baseboom. TarnishedPathtalk 11:15, 8 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

RFC: War criminal in first sentence of the lede

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.


Should Ben Roberts-Smith be referred to as war criminal in the first sentence of the lede? 05:43, 8 May 2024 (UTC) 94.200.83.10 (talk) 05:43, 8 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Survey (RFC: War criminal in first sentence of the lede)

94.200.83.10 (talk) 06:22, 8 May 2024 (UTC) 94.200.83.10 (talk · contribs) is a sock puppet of Orchomen (talk · contribs). [reply]
Where did the judge say that? All I can find is in judgment para 44 and Annexure “A-1”, referring to “War crime allegations”: Sydney Morning Herald 9-10 June 2018. That is, properly, “allegations”. Errantios (talk) 04:45, 9 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Refer to the reliable sources below which report on what Justice Besanko said/ruled. TarnishedPathtalk 05:06, 9 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Yes. The Source Analysis section covers this well. HiLo48 (talk) 05:29, 9 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
The label "war crimes" has been applied by these media. They have been right to do so: the judge found that allegations including murder were substantively true; and one can see that the events, or at least the murder(s), would be likely to amount to "war crimes" in Australian law (Division 268 of the Criminal Code).
But it appears to be wrong to suppose that the judge found an accusation specifically of "war crimes" in the original stories. It would therefore be wrong for WP to consider itself justified in calling B-S a "war criminal" because, it was assumed, the judge had approved that. Errantios (talk) 05:40, 9 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Straw man argument. I said "The judge ruled that it's fine for the media to say he is a war criminal..." Please don't argue against something else. HiLo48 (talk) 05:45, 9 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
@HiLo48, I'll add more to it when I have time.TarnishedPathtalk 05:51, 9 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
@HiLo48, I am arguing against exactly what you said. I will add now: I think that, after the judgment, media were right to say "war criminal" for their purpose, which was, at the top of each story, to convey a broad message to the reader on that day; but an encylopedia needs to be more precise. Errantios (talk) 04:51, 10 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
But when a judges civil court ruling is in conflict with our WP:BLPCRIME policy, obviously we can't use that label in the first sentence of the lead. We didn't for OJ or Trump, I see no compelling WP policy based reason for Roberts-Smith to be an exception. Isaidnoway (talk) 11:18, 10 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
and WP:BLPCRIME refers to WP:BLPPUBLIC which states "In the case of public figures, there will be a multitude of reliable published sources, and BLPs should simply document what these sources say. If an allegation or incident is noteworthy, relevant, and well documented, it belongs in the article—even if it is negative and the subject dislikes all mention of it". It is clear that BRS is a public figure (this has been discussed in other threads) and was so before the newspapers started their reporting on his war crimes and before he initiated his civil action, which he subsequently lost. Therefore WP:BLPPUBLIC is the is the relevant section of the policy to be reading. Per OJ or Trump, I suggest you take those discussions over there because WP:OTHERCONTENT is never a good argument. TarnishedPathtalk 11:56, 10 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
That's a misreading of WP:BLPCRIME. Its third sentence adds the caution that it can be inappropriate to even mention convictions or allegations if someone's not a public figure. That's not a get-out clause for the overarching prohibition on claiming someone's committed a crime when they haven't actually been convicted of it. NebY (talk) 12:31, 10 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
This RfC doesn't suggest to add that he has been criminally convicted. TarnishedPathtalk 12:44, 10 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
That's missing the point. A living person accused of a crime is presumed innocent until convicted by a court of law. He has not been convicted, so we can't call him a criminal. NebY (talk) 12:50, 10 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
OJ and Trump are clear and convincing arguments of confirming that BLP:CRIME takes precedent over WP:BLPPUBLIC, when it comes to using a contentious label in the first sentence of the lead. Roberts-Smith will not be an exception to that precedent. Isaidnoway (talk) 17:41, 10 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Agreed Slacker13 (talk) 03:12, 14 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
The court did not find that he was a war criminal. That has been a media interpretation of the judgment. Errantios (talk) 03:09, 18 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Multiple reliable sources say that the court did. See below in the source analysis. TarnishedPathtalk 04:44, 18 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Read the judgment. Errantios (talk) 12:08, 18 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
We follow reliable sources. TarnishedPathtalk 07:18, 27 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
A "reliable source" about a readily available text (see link, which I provided on 9 May) is more reliable than the text itself and even if the source had been a party to the case? Errantios (talk) 13:59, 27 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Per WP:BLPPRIMARY we can't use that in the article. We should follow the reliable secondary sources. TarnishedPathtalk 01:07, 28 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Ps, refer to the source analysis below which indicates that a range of publications (not just The Age/SMH) state that Justice Besanko found that BRS had committed war crimes. TarnishedPathtalk 01:11, 28 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Oh, please. WP:BLPPRIMARY is about protection of living persons and plainly should not be used to the opposite effect. Errantios (talk) 11:26, 28 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Can you quote me the bit from WP:BLPPRIMARY which states what you have written? TarnishedPathtalk 12:53, 28 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I am reading WP:BLPPRIMARY both as a whole and as subsidiary to WP:BLP and WP:PSTS, which aim to protect living persons. Errantios (talk) 14:14, 28 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Not once in WP:BLPPRIMARY does it lay out an exception about the usage of court transcripts and public documents, it in fact unambiguously rules it out by emphasising the 'not' in the following statement: Do not use trial transcripts and other court records, or other public documents, to support assertions about a living person. The Austlii link is a copy of a court record. It is explicitly out. TarnishedPathtalk 11:08, 29 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I am reading "trial transcripts and other court records, or other public documents" as covering publicly obtainable documents, when to refer to something that one has got hold of (albeit legitimately) could be unfair, and not as extending to material actually published to the world, such as a judgment that the court has published online.
A consequence of your interpretation would seem to be that a media report of a judgment must be referred to instead of the judgment itself even when attention to the judgment itself shows that the report is wrong. It seems plain that WP:BLPPRIMARY should be not be interpreted in that risky way. Errantios (talk) 14:28, 29 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
That Austlii source is an exact duplicate of the judgement which is clearly a court document. I'll keep reading the black bits. TarnishedPathtalk 21:55, 29 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I cited AustLII for convenience, as is usual in WP. The Federal Court's own publication of the judgment is here.
If it is always wrong to cite judgments directly, many WP articles about judicial decisions may need to be rewritten. I am following normal WP practice. Errantios (talk) 00:17, 30 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
(Notification: I have proposed amendment of WP:BLPPRIMARY so that it would become plain that published judgments may be referred to. I anticipate that this RFC will be closed before that amendment, if it or something like it is agreed, would become effective. Contributions to general discussion of that proposal will be welcome. Errantios (talk) 02:42, 3 June 2024 (UTC))[reply]

Discussion (RFC: War criminal in first sentence of the lede)

Pinging @WWGB, @Anthony Staunton, @Horse Eye's Back, @Iskandar323, @GreatCaesarsGhost, @Vladimir.copic, @K.e.coffman, @The History Wizard of Cambridge and @Melbguy05 who are as far as I can tell are editors who have participated in previous discussion around "war criminal". Apologies if I've missed anyone. TarnishedPathtalk 10:26, 8 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Question for participants? How do we deal with the fact that the RfC opener has now been blocked as a sockpuppet? TarnishedPathtalk 12:37, 8 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Source analysis (RFC: War criminal in first sentence of the lede)

the committed war crimes reporting is not relevant. That's already covered in the article. Plus The Age and the SMH are really not a good source sfor this is it given that they were among the newspapers being sued — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2001:8f8:1d63:6485:17cd:3b73:bc40:4ad0 (talk • contribs) 2001:8f8:1d63:6485:17cd:3b73:bc40:4ad0 (talk · contribs) is a sock puppet of Orchomen (talk · contribs).
You don't make a good argument. Reporting from reliable sources is relevant to this discussion and The Age and The SMH won against BRS. Do you have a connection to BRS? TarnishedPathtalk 12:20, 8 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I have a couple of issues with the sources. (1) SMH and The Age were parties in the defamation case. Their coverage of the judgement is hardly neutral. (2) Headlines are often written by sub-editors to attract readership. They may not be consistent with the tone of the author's article (WP:HEADLINES). WWGB (talk) 06:07, 9 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
What I'd raise in response to SMH, The Age being parties is that they won. Their position is vindicated more than sufficiently by Justice Besanko's judgment. Also, both sources have been tested during RfCs at WP:RS/N and are listed as WP:GUNREL at WP:RSP. You are correct on the headline front which is why I also provided quotes from the articles. In any case the Nine/Fairfax sources aren't the only ones provided as you no doubt see and I'll endeavour to add more when I have time. TarnishedPathtalk 06:20, 9 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
The question 'Do you have a connection to BRS?' is inappropriate! Several months ago, I was attacked for saying said it was not a criminal case but BRS lost the case and his reputation in a civil case. I hope the judge’s comments will end up being considered obiter. Anthony Staunton (talk) 12:17, 17 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
No it's not inappropriate given the IP's tendentious editing, geolocation and editing history. TarnishedPathtalk 14:30, 17 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

References

  1. ^ a b Alexander, Michaela Whitbourn, Harriet (1 June 2023). "Former SAS soldier committed war crimes". The Age. Retrieved 13 June 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ a b Benns, Matthew; Tonkin, Shannon (1 July 2023). "Ben Roberts-Smith defamation trial: Murderer, war criminal: Judge throws out BRS defamation case". The Advertiser. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.