Trust & Believe

“Did you know that Rihanna's song "Love Without Tragedy / Mother Mary" features references to MarilynMonroe and James Dean?”

I was surprised that the article had 22 references listed even though the article was fairly short. Just looking at the sources, I wondered if they were credible. Since I’m a fan of Rihanna I hear and read about her ‘life’ all the time. And half of time it’s just what people think about her life. Some of the questions that formed in my head before reading the article were, how could anyone know that Rihanna’s song “Love Without Tragedy/ Mother Mary” feature references to Marilyn Monroe and James Dean without actually asking her, Did these sources have an interview with Rihanna, and most importantly could I trust Wikipedia?

Since Wikipedia allows self-published sources, several questions arose in my head. What makes the sources credible if they don’t list how the information is obtained? Did these sources actually speak to Rihanna or the writers of the song? The more questions that are unanswered pertaining to source makes the credibility of the source goes down as a reader.

After reviewing all of the sources, I believe that the information presented in the article was unreliable. I personally think that certain information regarding the song wasn’t proven facts. The fact that the writer of the page inferred that lyrics were about Rihanna and Chris Brown’s domestic violence squabble wasn’t based on facts. This is just someone’s opinion. Until someone actually receives a quote from Rihanna saying that the song is about his or her relationship then this information is false. With 22 sources, the only facts that were presented in the article were the fact that Rihanna did record this song for her seventh studio album, Unapologetic. The reference to Marilyn Monroe and James Dean was mentioned in the article but didn’t have any substantial evidence that the song was even about them. I was expecting a lyric from the song that either stated Marilyn Monroe or James Dean’s name or something that referenced to their relationship history.

Several of the sources that were used for this article were gossip and music sites that are very opinioned. Even though some of these sites are very well known nothing provided talked about the Marilyn Monroe and James Dean reference. This made me wonder did someone just make this up? Where are the facts to back up this claim?

Wikipedia is known for not always having the most credible sources especially since anyone can create a page. I would feel much more secure with information on this website if there was a way we could see how these sources receive their information. Since I chose an article about Rihanna, one of the top R&B singers today, I wasn’t surprised that most of the sources were from opinionated websites with little to no factual background. Overall I believe Wikipedia is used a public display to shape readers opinions and views but I believe that everyone should make sure the sources provided are credible.