The result was delete. – Juliancolton Tropical Cyclone 00:02, 24 March 2009 (UTC) reply
This is a hoax, but it's a curious one, and wider than just Wikipedia. The article gives five references and two external links, but none of them mentions chewing-gum. Google-searching for "Nanogum" and "Platinum chewing gum" turns up quite a few hits, but when you look into them for a reliable source you get nowhere - they are all blog or gossip-type sites. On the article talk page reference is made to the "official company website", but there is no link to it and I cannot find one, either for "Platinum Chewing Gum" or "Nanogum", the two companies supposed to be involved.
The sort of things Google finds are zimbio.com, an article posted two days ago, with the same picture as ours, ezinearticles.com (spam-filter blacklists this link), and about.com - this last one posted by a user called "BBCNews", who has made only that one post, on 21 August, but has a Myspace page with a picture of the chewing-gum carton. She is said to be female, 28 years old, living in Switzerland, and I doubt has any connection with the BBC. Her myspace blog has one entry, about platinum chewing gum. The supposed marketing slogan "an ageless platinum life" returns no Ghits.
These articles talk in terms of multi-million dollar deals for packaging, a $250-a-box price, and $100 million lost in revenue due to smuggling the gum. If there were really a business on that scale, there would be company websites and other reliable sources to be found. Also, the recipe is said to be patented; if that were true, the patent could be cited.
The history is interesting: this article was input by Sushant 86 ( talk · contribs), who has only that one single edit. A {{hangon}} tag was added, and a plea that it should be kept added to the talk page, by Markdashy ( talk · contribs), who also has no other edits. However an entry "Platinum chewing gum" was added to the article List of chewing gum brands as long ago as 22 Sep 08 by 81.211.115.178 ( talk · contribs) (an IP registered to SOVINTEL St Petersburg) and Platinum News ( talk · contribs). On the same date an earlier version of this article was deleted CSD#G7 (author has blanked or requests deletion). These two also created the article Platinum nanoparticles which in the state they left it was nominated for deletion last September along with Comprehensive study of aging and free radicals; the latter article was deleted as "advertising masquerading as an encyclopedia article", but Platinum nanoparticles was reprieved as a valid subject subject to a major rewrite (which has happened) to remove unsourced spam/health claims. The closing admin of that AfD commented on unconvincing SPAs and sockpuppetry, and we should maybe expect the same here.
Meanwhile, this one cites no relevant reliable sources and I can find none. It's a hoax. I don't know what the point is, some kind of scam? We shouldn't be part of it. Delete. JohnCD ( talk) 21:37, 19 March 2009 (UTC) reply
1) Misinformation : Active ingredients are a trade secret
Correction:
On the contrary, the list of active ingredients in exact quantities is already mentioned on the product wrapper or box.
The same information is already mentioned in the table of contents within this article for the readers.
Ingredients are disclosed public information and are printed on the box cover.
The same has been provided in small brochure with complete details including the codes (Codex Alimentarius) of every ingredient as required by the laws in the U.S and almost all countries where this product is being sold.
2) Incomplete information: Recipe is patented
Correction: Recipe of the chewing gum is not patented or a trade secret.
But, process for producing the Platinum nanocolloidal solution (that is used in the manufacture of Platinum chewing gum) is patented in the U.S and the patent was awarded in the month of November, 2008.
Hence, I sincerely wish to edit this article and correct my unintentional mistakes. ( Sushy77 ( talk) 16:23, 20 March 2009 (UTC)); reply
These are the brands that target high networth clients and hence the venues of purchase would be obviously only in high end retails or boutiques, gift shops in star hotels or venues where the cash loaded consumers or buyers visit. I can provide you the list of venues where this product can be purchased. But then, we can call it blatant advertising? Isn’t it??( Markdashy ( talk) 16:36, 20 March 2009 (UTC)); reply
These are a few credible links available on the Internet that I can provide you for the moment in support of the fact that this product does exist in the Russian Market.
1) Reputed Russian Business newspaper :
Article with regards to Platinum chewing gum had appeared in this newspaper dated: 15 June, 2006. Link to the article
I wish to draw the attention of all the wikipedians to the fact that there are numerous articles in Wikipedia which are accepted and which give references to the mentioned Russian newspaper – Delovaya gazeta “Vzglyad” (Деловая газета «Взгляд»).
Link to this newspaper in Wikipedia itself is here
This newspaper has been also recommended by VVPB (a wikipedian) as a wikisource on his page. [ The link to his page is here]
And it is given as a reference in the end of various wikiarticles on different topics (cultural events, politics, personalities, songs, films, products, etc). Below are some of them to make it easier for you guys to refer or cross check:
1. wiki-article 1 (173) ↑ Юлия Малышева ЦИК раскрыл доходы Путина. Взгляд (2007-10-26).
2. wiki-article 2 ^ a b (Russian) Галковский, Дмитрий (June 22, 2005). "Березовский – между Азефом и Парвусом (Berezovsky - between Azef and Parvus)". Деловая газета «Взгляд». [4] Retrieved on 2006-12-17.
3. wiki-article 3 ↑ Башни-близнецы взорвали изнутри, Деловая газета «Взгляд» (11.09.2007).
4. wiki-article 4 ↑ ИТАР-ТАСС, Статья «Премьера мультфильма „Кин-дза-дза“ должна состояться в 2010 году». Деловая газета «Взгляд» (2-02-2008).
5. wiki-article 5 Деловая газета Взгляд: Освенцим может исчезнуть.
2) Russian government university:
Moscow State University website:
A similar report had also appeared with regards to platinum chewing gum in June, 2006.
Link to the report This is not a post in a forum or a blog or a comment or a propaganda.
But this is a serious article written by the host official website of the Moscow state university fully funded by the Government of the Russian Federation.
3) An article with regards to Platinum Chewing gum appeared on 21 September, 2008 in the Sunday Observer in Sri Lanka.
The photograph that is given with the article doesn't match with that of the original, but the content of the article does refer to Platinum Chewing Gum and Nanogum. I suppose this link will help.
( Spbland ( talk) 20:03, 23 March 2009 (UTC)); reply
So what is next? Some Wikis. There is no point even looking at those. The next link is the Moscow University Alumni Club. Guess what? It is exactly the same text as before republished and sourced to www.vz.ru. So then we have the Sri-Lanka Sunday Observer. That offers us a few paragraphs and gives a name for the company: "Swarowski company". This fails to reveal a home page when Googled and is probably intended to be confused with Swarovski. So we have another newspaper getting hoaxed.
So does this help with notability? RS sources can be hoaxed from time to time and hoaxes themselves can be notable. The fake Hitler Diaries spring to mind. That said, hoaxing a couple of minor newspapers into giving fairly minor coverage of a fake or dubious product does not seem enough for notability. We would need to RS coverage of the hoax itself before we had a solid source for an article about it. -- DanielRigal ( talk) 22:30, 23 March 2009 (UTC) reply
The result was delete. – Juliancolton Tropical Cyclone 00:02, 24 March 2009 (UTC) reply
This is a hoax, but it's a curious one, and wider than just Wikipedia. The article gives five references and two external links, but none of them mentions chewing-gum. Google-searching for "Nanogum" and "Platinum chewing gum" turns up quite a few hits, but when you look into them for a reliable source you get nowhere - they are all blog or gossip-type sites. On the article talk page reference is made to the "official company website", but there is no link to it and I cannot find one, either for "Platinum Chewing Gum" or "Nanogum", the two companies supposed to be involved.
The sort of things Google finds are zimbio.com, an article posted two days ago, with the same picture as ours, ezinearticles.com (spam-filter blacklists this link), and about.com - this last one posted by a user called "BBCNews", who has made only that one post, on 21 August, but has a Myspace page with a picture of the chewing-gum carton. She is said to be female, 28 years old, living in Switzerland, and I doubt has any connection with the BBC. Her myspace blog has one entry, about platinum chewing gum. The supposed marketing slogan "an ageless platinum life" returns no Ghits.
These articles talk in terms of multi-million dollar deals for packaging, a $250-a-box price, and $100 million lost in revenue due to smuggling the gum. If there were really a business on that scale, there would be company websites and other reliable sources to be found. Also, the recipe is said to be patented; if that were true, the patent could be cited.
The history is interesting: this article was input by Sushant 86 ( talk · contribs), who has only that one single edit. A {{hangon}} tag was added, and a plea that it should be kept added to the talk page, by Markdashy ( talk · contribs), who also has no other edits. However an entry "Platinum chewing gum" was added to the article List of chewing gum brands as long ago as 22 Sep 08 by 81.211.115.178 ( talk · contribs) (an IP registered to SOVINTEL St Petersburg) and Platinum News ( talk · contribs). On the same date an earlier version of this article was deleted CSD#G7 (author has blanked or requests deletion). These two also created the article Platinum nanoparticles which in the state they left it was nominated for deletion last September along with Comprehensive study of aging and free radicals; the latter article was deleted as "advertising masquerading as an encyclopedia article", but Platinum nanoparticles was reprieved as a valid subject subject to a major rewrite (which has happened) to remove unsourced spam/health claims. The closing admin of that AfD commented on unconvincing SPAs and sockpuppetry, and we should maybe expect the same here.
Meanwhile, this one cites no relevant reliable sources and I can find none. It's a hoax. I don't know what the point is, some kind of scam? We shouldn't be part of it. Delete. JohnCD ( talk) 21:37, 19 March 2009 (UTC) reply
1) Misinformation : Active ingredients are a trade secret
Correction:
On the contrary, the list of active ingredients in exact quantities is already mentioned on the product wrapper or box.
The same information is already mentioned in the table of contents within this article for the readers.
Ingredients are disclosed public information and are printed on the box cover.
The same has been provided in small brochure with complete details including the codes (Codex Alimentarius) of every ingredient as required by the laws in the U.S and almost all countries where this product is being sold.
2) Incomplete information: Recipe is patented
Correction: Recipe of the chewing gum is not patented or a trade secret.
But, process for producing the Platinum nanocolloidal solution (that is used in the manufacture of Platinum chewing gum) is patented in the U.S and the patent was awarded in the month of November, 2008.
Hence, I sincerely wish to edit this article and correct my unintentional mistakes. ( Sushy77 ( talk) 16:23, 20 March 2009 (UTC)); reply
These are the brands that target high networth clients and hence the venues of purchase would be obviously only in high end retails or boutiques, gift shops in star hotels or venues where the cash loaded consumers or buyers visit. I can provide you the list of venues where this product can be purchased. But then, we can call it blatant advertising? Isn’t it??( Markdashy ( talk) 16:36, 20 March 2009 (UTC)); reply
These are a few credible links available on the Internet that I can provide you for the moment in support of the fact that this product does exist in the Russian Market.
1) Reputed Russian Business newspaper :
Article with regards to Platinum chewing gum had appeared in this newspaper dated: 15 June, 2006. Link to the article
I wish to draw the attention of all the wikipedians to the fact that there are numerous articles in Wikipedia which are accepted and which give references to the mentioned Russian newspaper – Delovaya gazeta “Vzglyad” (Деловая газета «Взгляд»).
Link to this newspaper in Wikipedia itself is here
This newspaper has been also recommended by VVPB (a wikipedian) as a wikisource on his page. [ The link to his page is here]
And it is given as a reference in the end of various wikiarticles on different topics (cultural events, politics, personalities, songs, films, products, etc). Below are some of them to make it easier for you guys to refer or cross check:
1. wiki-article 1 (173) ↑ Юлия Малышева ЦИК раскрыл доходы Путина. Взгляд (2007-10-26).
2. wiki-article 2 ^ a b (Russian) Галковский, Дмитрий (June 22, 2005). "Березовский – между Азефом и Парвусом (Berezovsky - between Azef and Parvus)". Деловая газета «Взгляд». [4] Retrieved on 2006-12-17.
3. wiki-article 3 ↑ Башни-близнецы взорвали изнутри, Деловая газета «Взгляд» (11.09.2007).
4. wiki-article 4 ↑ ИТАР-ТАСС, Статья «Премьера мультфильма „Кин-дза-дза“ должна состояться в 2010 году». Деловая газета «Взгляд» (2-02-2008).
5. wiki-article 5 Деловая газета Взгляд: Освенцим может исчезнуть.
2) Russian government university:
Moscow State University website:
A similar report had also appeared with regards to platinum chewing gum in June, 2006.
Link to the report This is not a post in a forum or a blog or a comment or a propaganda.
But this is a serious article written by the host official website of the Moscow state university fully funded by the Government of the Russian Federation.
3) An article with regards to Platinum Chewing gum appeared on 21 September, 2008 in the Sunday Observer in Sri Lanka.
The photograph that is given with the article doesn't match with that of the original, but the content of the article does refer to Platinum Chewing Gum and Nanogum. I suppose this link will help.
( Spbland ( talk) 20:03, 23 March 2009 (UTC)); reply
So what is next? Some Wikis. There is no point even looking at those. The next link is the Moscow University Alumni Club. Guess what? It is exactly the same text as before republished and sourced to www.vz.ru. So then we have the Sri-Lanka Sunday Observer. That offers us a few paragraphs and gives a name for the company: "Swarowski company". This fails to reveal a home page when Googled and is probably intended to be confused with Swarovski. So we have another newspaper getting hoaxed.
So does this help with notability? RS sources can be hoaxed from time to time and hoaxes themselves can be notable. The fake Hitler Diaries spring to mind. That said, hoaxing a couple of minor newspapers into giving fairly minor coverage of a fake or dubious product does not seem enough for notability. We would need to RS coverage of the hoax itself before we had a solid source for an article about it. -- DanielRigal ( talk) 22:30, 23 March 2009 (UTC) reply