Edit: Stickying some relevant "war reporting" from the comments to the post body, in a hopefully somewhat chronological order. Thanks for diving into the trenches everybody!
So the "and convicted felon" part of the screenshot that is highlighted was in the first sentence of the article about Donald Trump. After the jury verdict it was added and then removed again pretty much immediately several times over.
Then the article got editing restrictions and a warning about them (warning has been removed again):
![](https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/5794efbf-c738-41c9-b335-8346ec31c5d6.jpeg)
During these restrictions there is a "RfC" (Request for Comments) thread held on the talk page of the article where anybody can voice their opinion on the matter:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Donald_Trump#RfC_on_use_of_%22convicted_felon%22_in_first_sentence
Money quote:
There's a weird argument for **slight support**. Specifically because if we don't include it in the first paragraph somewhere, either the first sentence or in a new second sentence, there are going to be edit wars for the next 2-6 years. Guninvalid (talk) 22:01, 31 May 2024 (UTC)
There is a second battlefield going on in the infobox on the side (this has also been removed again at this point in time):
![](https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/d8268fd6-d26b-451f-8d26-ceb52f5a7b5d.png)
The article can apparently only be edited by certain more trusted users at the moment, and warnings about editing "contentious" parts have been added to the article source:
![](https://sh.itjust.works/pictrs/image/48aee627-c427-4806-a4a0-bdd6aede99ff.jpeg)
To summarise, here is a map of the status quo on the ground roughly a day after the jury verdict:
![](https://lemmy.ml/pictrs/image/3cc0ae3e-258b-41a9-99ea-c8d5bd268519.png)
for the lazy
https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Donald_Trump&action=history
Also, the RfC: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Donald_Trump#RfC_on_use_of_%22convicted_felon%22_in_first_sentence
Thanks for the link. I love Wikipedia!
Pretty much the only question is first sentence or second sentence (almost):
I'm inclined to agree with this comment, to be honest:
His being a criminal is the most well known fact about him, I'd argue it should be mentioned as early as possible to reflect that.
I'm pretty sure that him being an ex-president is a better known fact. But still, him being the first and only criminal ex-president is pretty remarkable. Keep it in the first sentence!
No. A lot of his followers think he is not convicted. That's a shame jury. A lot still think he is president and didn't loose to Joe Biden. The most damning truths about him have been pushed aside and ignored.
That doesn't mean an encyclopedia should buy into that.
"Trump is a convicted felon, a failed businessman, and the only president to be impeached twice."
"Donald is a life-long con man and fraud, finally convicted of dozens of felonies in his later years. He is also a rapist."
This is pretty level-headed.
It's Wikipedia, even the Nazis have to try to sound rational or they get banned. Don't be fooled by the tone. They are lying and there's tons of articles of politicians with their criminal history in the lede.
Honestly, that seems pretty reasonable. "A convicted fellon, he became the first former president to be convicted of a felony on May 30th 2024." as the second sentence.