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John Anthony Castro article. This is not a forum for general discussion of the article's subject. |
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This article was nominated for deletion on April 27, 2006. The result of the discussion was delete. |
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After a quick check I found that it may violate a BLP policy because many sources are doubtful and at best represent original research. The sources on the page are problematic for the following reasons:
1) Ref-bombing with a lot of primary sources.
2) Extensive use of "claims" and "not fully verified information" in biography that led to a very poorly written article.
3) From 32 sources I examined, many sources are self-published, redundant, promotional, or repeating the same news (redundant). Also, extreme overuse of the primary sources that lead to specific opinions and original research (at best).
4) The page appeared shortly after the person became known in the media for filing the lawsuit against the former U.S. President Donald Trump
5) The article represents "original research" at best.
Here is a more detailed analysis for additional review and verification:
[1] [2] Self-published and promotional source. (Ref#1)
[3] Irrelevant source (ref#2) – no mention of the person.
[4] (Ref#3): Obituary of the aunt. Not sure if it qualifies because it only mentions Anthony Castro and we don’t have a double verification here for such a dubious source.
[5] (Ref#4) Self-published and potentially promotional source created for a political campaign in Laredo city. Also, a primary source
[6] (Ref#6) – the source used twice but it was not possible to verify it as the editors didn’t make any archive version of it. I wasn’t able to verify the information and it looks like it is "PayWall". While it is not a violation, the problem is I wasn’t able to verify the information here.
[7] (Ref#9) Ineligible blog
[8] (Ref#11) – Primary source (court records)
[9] (Ref#12). Primary source (Texas Controller of Public Accounts) – also non-verifiable.
[10] (Ref#13). Blog
[11] (Ref#14) (PDF file about the lawsuit). Primary source
[12] (Ref#15). Primary source on the lawsuit from the Taxnotes.com
[13] (Ref#16). Primary source PDF file
[14] (Ref#17). Primary source
[15] (Ref#18) Primary source. Also, potentially confidential information of the uploaded letter. It is not clear if this source can be used even as a primary one.
[16] [17] (Ref#19) Not a word about Castro. (Ref#20) (Primary source statistics) – might be relevant and eligible but not from the main governmental website but from a vague PDF document.
[18] (Ref#21) The source is primary but might qualify as it is from Texas Tribune
[19] [20] (Ref#23) A short mention of Castro’s lawsuit among other things – only one very short paragraph
[21] (Ref#25) Self-published and potentially promotional source from the political campaign of Mr. Castro.
[22] (Ref#26) (Self-published source from Castro’s personal website)
[23] An opinion letter written by Castro
[24] (Ref#28) An opinion letter written by Castro
[25] (Ref#31) A short paragraph about Castro among other candidates. Can be eligible for basic information but doesn’t contribute to any notability.
[26] (Ref#32) Twitter message – social media
[27] (Ref#33). I have no opinion or knowledge about this particular source. It is also primary and needs verification.
[28] (Ref#34)
Wordpress blog from an organization with its own opinion about the case. Definitely not an independent source.
Might be eligible for basic information but I’m not sure it is an official governmental source (Ref#35)
[30] (Ref#36) MartinPict ( talk) 17:43, 12 April 2023 (UTC)
I hope to get Chetsford opinion, too. MartinPict ( talk) 18:22, 12 April 2023 (UTC)
This thread mixes up questions about BLP sourcing with the separate issue of whether the subject is WP:N or this is a case of BLP1E with respect to his lawsuit against Donald Trump. The subject is not BLP1E (known for one event) as the subject has been extensively covered for two different things:
He's also, of course, received a potpourri of other mentions that are more than incidental or passing, though on isolated topics. These aren't necessary to crest the BLP1E threshold, as that's achieved above, but it's going to be difficult to make an N case with these piled on top of it.
There's no universe in which the subject of this article is an unknown individual trying to quietly eat his cereal. Chetsford ( talk) 00:09, 13 April 2023 (UTC)
Many sources cite "U.S. military base in Landstuhl, Germany" as place of birth; but it might be unclear which base, as there were several bases (medical, air). -- ProloSozz ( talk) 14:26, 25 April 2023 (UTC)
Should the three past elections contested by this current U.S. presidential candidate be presented in the form of Election Results tables using Template:Election box (e.g. [34]), or, should they be removed and replaced with this sentence: "Castro contested several elections, but didn't succeed." Chetsford ( talk) 14:40, 7 June 2023 (UTC)
Thank you,
User:Chetsford, for your receptiveness to input from other involved editors. From my perspective, John Anthony Castro does not yet appear to qualify as a significant politician, a sentiment reflected in the election results tables you meticulously compiled. Yet, in the lead section, Castro is mentioned only as an "American tax consultant who has unsuccessfully run for several political offices."
So, how should we define John Castro? Is he a successful tax advisor and entrepreneur, which seems apparent? Or is he an aspiring politician, though seemingly so minor that he doesn't warrant mention? Could he be both? Do you understand my point here? Could you clarify your perspective on how you view Castro's noteworthiness, which I have serious doubts about?
I would appreciate other opinions here. With only primary sources at hand, and considering Castro's minuscule role in these local elections, this information would likely be deemed spam on 99% of other Wikipedia pages. As I stated in my other edit summaries, I have acknowledged that the individual (be it politician or entrepreneur) participated in those elections, primarily out of fairness to your contributions. However, with the sources you've supplied about this seemingly inconsequential "politician," I could have my dog participate in elections with more impressive results.
My central question is: If Castro is primarily a tax advisor, does he qualify as notable? If much is written about his political aspirations, why did you refrain from identifying him as a politician, despite detailing his electoral history in various tables?
MartinPict (
talk) 15:23, 8 June 2023 (UTC)
Just to get ahead of the curve, a few days ago a magistrate in the Northern District of Texas recommended dismissal of Castro's lawsuit against the Government in Castro v. USA (which involved Castro's contention that the IRS improperly informed potential witnesses that he was or is the target of a widening federal criminal probe). The opinion has been printed in Tax Notes [35], but I'm inclined to believe this episode should not be included in the article until or unless it's covered by a secondary source with at least some narrative or comment. I'm sure this is coming down the pike in the next couple weeks but, out of a preponderance of caution for this BLP, we should hold off, IMO. Chetsford ( talk) 07:50, 9 June 2023 (UTC)
Dear Wikipedia editors,
I am reaching out as a new user of Wikipedia, representing my client, Mr. John Anthony Castro. I have already declared my conflict of interest (COI) on my user's profile, in accordance with Wikipedia's guidelines. Admittedly, I'm still acclimating to Wikipedia's comprehensive rules and regulations.
We would like to bring attention to a significant concern regarding a document—reference #6 under the title "Letter to John Anthony Castro. Florida State Bar"—which was uploaded onto the Wikipedia page of Mr. Castro. We believe it was unlawfully obtained and uploaded by Wikipedia Administrator Chetsford. The cited reference is as follows:
Coaxum, Ghunise (July 18, 2016). " Practice of Law Investigation of John Anthony Castro". Letter to John Anthony Castro. Florida State Bar. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
Here is a summary of our concerns:
This document was reportedly accessed from a court filing when Mr. Castro initiated a $247 Million lawsuit against Moodys Gartner. Case details can be found here:
[36]. Moodys Gartner subsequently included this document in their affidavit, prompting Mr. Castro's legal team to issue a warning of potential sanctions due to its illegitimacy. The document was withdrawn and the case was dismissed. It's pertinent to note that Mr. Castro has since settled the case out of court.
This document appears to be created by Roy Berg, a tax attorney who has been targeting Mr. Castro by filing baseless complaints against him for several years.
The document was likely sourced from PACER (
[37]), a restricted access court database. We surmise that an unauthorized user downloaded it and uploaded it to a PDF hosting website. Despite its dubious nature and lack of court admissibility, it is being cited as authoritative.
We suspect that this document was concocted by Mr. Berg to fortify his campaign against Mr. Castro in 2018.
This sequence of events signifies a blatant abuse of power and violation of "good faith" editing. It is distressing to witness such behavior from a Wikipedia Administrator. Consequently, we have submitted a complaint to the Wikimedia Foundation's Legal team, providing them with the necessary information for source removal and requesting a review of Chetsford's potential COI in editing Mr. Castro's Wikipedia page.
However, due to my declared COI, I am unable to remove the contentious source. Therefore, we kindly request assistance from seasoned editors to rectify this issue. Furthermore, we urge the Wikipedia community to deliberate on this incident, particularly focusing on the alleged COI and unethical conduct of Administrator Chetsford.
We welcome all editors to investigate the validity of Mr. Castro's claims and appreciate any assistance offered in this regard. We firmly believe that by standing together, we can ensure the integrity of the platform we all respect and admire.
Thank you for your time and understanding.
Ikvas (
talk) 15:32, 22 June 2023 (UTC)
Castro was (and is) not, in fact, a licensed attorney). It is true that one does not need to be a licensed attorney to do tax preparation (indeed, that is what accountants do all the time), but that point is not relevant to the question of the letter's authenticitiy.
We welcome all editors to investigate the validity of Mr. Castro's claims—it is not in the authority of Wikipedia editors to investigate the validity of anything, and it is in fact forbidden by Wikipedia policy. In order to maintain a neutral point of view, we must adhere to what is given in reliable sources. Because court documents are a primary source, it seems as though the consensus here is to remove it from the article anyway, but I see that the document was mentioned in a secondary source, so I would imagine that information about it will remain in the article. WPscatter t/ c 03:13, 23 June 2023 (UTC)
This is the
talk page for discussing improvements to the
John Anthony Castro article. This is not a forum for general discussion of the article's subject. |
Article policies
|
Find sources: Google ( books · news · scholar · free images · WP refs) · FENS · JSTOR · TWL |
This article was nominated for deletion on April 27, 2006. The result of the discussion was delete. |
This article must adhere to the biographies of living persons (BLP) policy, even if it is not a biography, because it contains material about living persons. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentially libellous. If such material is repeatedly inserted, or if you have other concerns, please report the issue to this noticeboard.If you are a subject of this article, or acting on behalf of one, and you need help, please see this help page. |
This article is rated C-class on Wikipedia's
content assessment scale. It is of interest to the following WikiProjects: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
After a quick check I found that it may violate a BLP policy because many sources are doubtful and at best represent original research. The sources on the page are problematic for the following reasons:
1) Ref-bombing with a lot of primary sources.
2) Extensive use of "claims" and "not fully verified information" in biography that led to a very poorly written article.
3) From 32 sources I examined, many sources are self-published, redundant, promotional, or repeating the same news (redundant). Also, extreme overuse of the primary sources that lead to specific opinions and original research (at best).
4) The page appeared shortly after the person became known in the media for filing the lawsuit against the former U.S. President Donald Trump
5) The article represents "original research" at best.
Here is a more detailed analysis for additional review and verification:
[1] [2] Self-published and promotional source. (Ref#1)
[3] Irrelevant source (ref#2) – no mention of the person.
[4] (Ref#3): Obituary of the aunt. Not sure if it qualifies because it only mentions Anthony Castro and we don’t have a double verification here for such a dubious source.
[5] (Ref#4) Self-published and potentially promotional source created for a political campaign in Laredo city. Also, a primary source
[6] (Ref#6) – the source used twice but it was not possible to verify it as the editors didn’t make any archive version of it. I wasn’t able to verify the information and it looks like it is "PayWall". While it is not a violation, the problem is I wasn’t able to verify the information here.
[7] (Ref#9) Ineligible blog
[8] (Ref#11) – Primary source (court records)
[9] (Ref#12). Primary source (Texas Controller of Public Accounts) – also non-verifiable.
[10] (Ref#13). Blog
[11] (Ref#14) (PDF file about the lawsuit). Primary source
[12] (Ref#15). Primary source on the lawsuit from the Taxnotes.com
[13] (Ref#16). Primary source PDF file
[14] (Ref#17). Primary source
[15] (Ref#18) Primary source. Also, potentially confidential information of the uploaded letter. It is not clear if this source can be used even as a primary one.
[16] [17] (Ref#19) Not a word about Castro. (Ref#20) (Primary source statistics) – might be relevant and eligible but not from the main governmental website but from a vague PDF document.
[18] (Ref#21) The source is primary but might qualify as it is from Texas Tribune
[19] [20] (Ref#23) A short mention of Castro’s lawsuit among other things – only one very short paragraph
[21] (Ref#25) Self-published and potentially promotional source from the political campaign of Mr. Castro.
[22] (Ref#26) (Self-published source from Castro’s personal website)
[23] An opinion letter written by Castro
[24] (Ref#28) An opinion letter written by Castro
[25] (Ref#31) A short paragraph about Castro among other candidates. Can be eligible for basic information but doesn’t contribute to any notability.
[26] (Ref#32) Twitter message – social media
[27] (Ref#33). I have no opinion or knowledge about this particular source. It is also primary and needs verification.
[28] (Ref#34)
Wordpress blog from an organization with its own opinion about the case. Definitely not an independent source.
Might be eligible for basic information but I’m not sure it is an official governmental source (Ref#35)
[30] (Ref#36) MartinPict ( talk) 17:43, 12 April 2023 (UTC)
I hope to get Chetsford opinion, too. MartinPict ( talk) 18:22, 12 April 2023 (UTC)
This thread mixes up questions about BLP sourcing with the separate issue of whether the subject is WP:N or this is a case of BLP1E with respect to his lawsuit against Donald Trump. The subject is not BLP1E (known for one event) as the subject has been extensively covered for two different things:
He's also, of course, received a potpourri of other mentions that are more than incidental or passing, though on isolated topics. These aren't necessary to crest the BLP1E threshold, as that's achieved above, but it's going to be difficult to make an N case with these piled on top of it.
There's no universe in which the subject of this article is an unknown individual trying to quietly eat his cereal. Chetsford ( talk) 00:09, 13 April 2023 (UTC)
Many sources cite "U.S. military base in Landstuhl, Germany" as place of birth; but it might be unclear which base, as there were several bases (medical, air). -- ProloSozz ( talk) 14:26, 25 April 2023 (UTC)
Should the three past elections contested by this current U.S. presidential candidate be presented in the form of Election Results tables using Template:Election box (e.g. [34]), or, should they be removed and replaced with this sentence: "Castro contested several elections, but didn't succeed." Chetsford ( talk) 14:40, 7 June 2023 (UTC)
Thank you,
User:Chetsford, for your receptiveness to input from other involved editors. From my perspective, John Anthony Castro does not yet appear to qualify as a significant politician, a sentiment reflected in the election results tables you meticulously compiled. Yet, in the lead section, Castro is mentioned only as an "American tax consultant who has unsuccessfully run for several political offices."
So, how should we define John Castro? Is he a successful tax advisor and entrepreneur, which seems apparent? Or is he an aspiring politician, though seemingly so minor that he doesn't warrant mention? Could he be both? Do you understand my point here? Could you clarify your perspective on how you view Castro's noteworthiness, which I have serious doubts about?
I would appreciate other opinions here. With only primary sources at hand, and considering Castro's minuscule role in these local elections, this information would likely be deemed spam on 99% of other Wikipedia pages. As I stated in my other edit summaries, I have acknowledged that the individual (be it politician or entrepreneur) participated in those elections, primarily out of fairness to your contributions. However, with the sources you've supplied about this seemingly inconsequential "politician," I could have my dog participate in elections with more impressive results.
My central question is: If Castro is primarily a tax advisor, does he qualify as notable? If much is written about his political aspirations, why did you refrain from identifying him as a politician, despite detailing his electoral history in various tables?
MartinPict (
talk) 15:23, 8 June 2023 (UTC)
Just to get ahead of the curve, a few days ago a magistrate in the Northern District of Texas recommended dismissal of Castro's lawsuit against the Government in Castro v. USA (which involved Castro's contention that the IRS improperly informed potential witnesses that he was or is the target of a widening federal criminal probe). The opinion has been printed in Tax Notes [35], but I'm inclined to believe this episode should not be included in the article until or unless it's covered by a secondary source with at least some narrative or comment. I'm sure this is coming down the pike in the next couple weeks but, out of a preponderance of caution for this BLP, we should hold off, IMO. Chetsford ( talk) 07:50, 9 June 2023 (UTC)
Dear Wikipedia editors,
I am reaching out as a new user of Wikipedia, representing my client, Mr. John Anthony Castro. I have already declared my conflict of interest (COI) on my user's profile, in accordance with Wikipedia's guidelines. Admittedly, I'm still acclimating to Wikipedia's comprehensive rules and regulations.
We would like to bring attention to a significant concern regarding a document—reference #6 under the title "Letter to John Anthony Castro. Florida State Bar"—which was uploaded onto the Wikipedia page of Mr. Castro. We believe it was unlawfully obtained and uploaded by Wikipedia Administrator Chetsford. The cited reference is as follows:
Coaxum, Ghunise (July 18, 2016). " Practice of Law Investigation of John Anthony Castro". Letter to John Anthony Castro. Florida State Bar. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
Here is a summary of our concerns:
This document was reportedly accessed from a court filing when Mr. Castro initiated a $247 Million lawsuit against Moodys Gartner. Case details can be found here:
[36]. Moodys Gartner subsequently included this document in their affidavit, prompting Mr. Castro's legal team to issue a warning of potential sanctions due to its illegitimacy. The document was withdrawn and the case was dismissed. It's pertinent to note that Mr. Castro has since settled the case out of court.
This document appears to be created by Roy Berg, a tax attorney who has been targeting Mr. Castro by filing baseless complaints against him for several years.
The document was likely sourced from PACER (
[37]), a restricted access court database. We surmise that an unauthorized user downloaded it and uploaded it to a PDF hosting website. Despite its dubious nature and lack of court admissibility, it is being cited as authoritative.
We suspect that this document was concocted by Mr. Berg to fortify his campaign against Mr. Castro in 2018.
This sequence of events signifies a blatant abuse of power and violation of "good faith" editing. It is distressing to witness such behavior from a Wikipedia Administrator. Consequently, we have submitted a complaint to the Wikimedia Foundation's Legal team, providing them with the necessary information for source removal and requesting a review of Chetsford's potential COI in editing Mr. Castro's Wikipedia page.
However, due to my declared COI, I am unable to remove the contentious source. Therefore, we kindly request assistance from seasoned editors to rectify this issue. Furthermore, we urge the Wikipedia community to deliberate on this incident, particularly focusing on the alleged COI and unethical conduct of Administrator Chetsford.
We welcome all editors to investigate the validity of Mr. Castro's claims and appreciate any assistance offered in this regard. We firmly believe that by standing together, we can ensure the integrity of the platform we all respect and admire.
Thank you for your time and understanding.
Ikvas (
talk) 15:32, 22 June 2023 (UTC)
Castro was (and is) not, in fact, a licensed attorney). It is true that one does not need to be a licensed attorney to do tax preparation (indeed, that is what accountants do all the time), but that point is not relevant to the question of the letter's authenticitiy.
We welcome all editors to investigate the validity of Mr. Castro's claims—it is not in the authority of Wikipedia editors to investigate the validity of anything, and it is in fact forbidden by Wikipedia policy. In order to maintain a neutral point of view, we must adhere to what is given in reliable sources. Because court documents are a primary source, it seems as though the consensus here is to remove it from the article anyway, but I see that the document was mentioned in a secondary source, so I would imagine that information about it will remain in the article. WPscatter t/ c 03:13, 23 June 2023 (UTC)