Talk:Rialto Holocaust writing assignment

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Did you know nomination

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... that the Rialto Holocaust writing assignment told 2,000 eighth-graders to debate whether the Holocaust had happened, and at least 50 concluded it had not?

Source: https://www.sbsun.com/social-affairs/20140711/exclusive-holocaust-denied-by-students-in-rialto-school-assignment

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2014/05/07/8th-grade-assignment-write-essay-about-whether-holocaust-was-real-or-made-up/

- Reviewed: [[]]

Created by Realengand (talk). Number of QPQs required: 0. Nominator has fewer than 5 past nominations.

Kqol • talk 20:40, 24 June 2026 (UTC).[reply]

Hi, I'll be reviewing this one. APK hi :-) (talk) 03:06, 26 June 2026 (UTC)[reply]
The quote in the lede needs to be cited at the end of the sentence. I can't access the WaPo article atm (Wikipedia Library link seems to be down) or I'd do it myself (just to verify). I linked some of the words in the body of the article. They should be linked in the lede and the body. Also, the lede provides a summary and I feel like some of the details are missing in the "Assignment" section. It just goes straight into the scandal without some of the background info included in the lede. APK hi :-) (talk) 03:23, 26 June 2026 (UTC)[reply]
Earwig is showing likely violation, but that's just quotes so disregard. Length and newness of the article are obviously good. APK hi :-) (talk) 03:26, 26 June 2026 (UTC)[reply]
Just noting that I asked some editorial questions at Talk:Rialto_Holocaust_writing_assignment#Refinements_to_article. TheFeds 06:09, 26 June 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks APK, all done - cited the lede quote, moved the background into the body, and sorted out the links between the lede and body. I also went through TheFeds' points on the talk page and addressed those. Realengand (talk) 13:12, 26 June 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you. I still think that although the lede summarizes the article, the "Assignment" section just goes straight into details without mentioning what the assignment is. Info from the first sentence in the lede "The Rialto Holocaust writing assignment was an eighth-grade writing assignment that the Rialto Unified School District in Rialto, California, gave to roughly 2,000 students in April 2014" should be in the first part of the "Assignment" section. Per MOS:INTRO: "The body is allowed to repeat points from the lead, since the lead summarizes the points of the body and the body provides elaboration on those points, which are usually reiterated." I went ahead and made some edits to address this. I removed two of the links from the "See also" section because they're already linked and mentioned in the body. I added a second mention of Islam's first name because it's mentioned once in the lede and now once in the body. APK hi :-) (talk) 19:24, 26 June 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks, added it to the top of the Assignment section. (That anon edit there was me btw - got logged out. Sorry about that.) First nomination for me, so I really appreciate you walking me through it. Realengand (talk) 23:28, 27 June 2026 (UTC)[reply]
- Awesome, thank you. I asked @TheFeds: if they think the issues they raised have been addressed, so just waiting for a reply. APK hi :-) (talk) 00:36, 28 June 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Refinements to article

@Realengand, would you be interested in clarifying some editorial choices, and maybe making some refinements?

Do you think the students' sources were strictly limited to the 3 sources provided? I realize the reporting says that they were provided these—but the quoted instruction relates to "your research on this issue", which could have included practically anything, provided or not.
I urge caution in accepting the conclusion that "at least 50 essays [...] denied or doubted the Holocaust". Holocaust denial (the active perpetuation of lies) is one thing; underinformed or uninterested students writing an assignment is quite another. If a student said that both sides had arguments that made them doubt the other side, is it fair to throw that in with wholehearted denial? If the statement about 50 essays was verifiably made by a reliable source, but is likely to be incorrect or exceptionally controversial, maybe we need to give in-text attribution to contextualize it for the reader.
According to our article, the assignment was "handed out in April under interim superintendent Mohammad Z. Islam". Although he may well have been the administrator of the district, what specifically was his role? It seems unusual that a superintendent would have direct input into any given assignment, and I think it is important that this connection be directly sourced. If his close connection can't be directly sourced, I think it would be inappropriate to characterize the assignment as having been handed out "under" him—there's a difference between retrospectively insufficient exercise of general oversight, and being specifically implicated in the objectionable act.
Superintendent Islam has a very stereotypically Islamic name. I'd worry that repeating his name in full 4 times (like at present) could have the effect of drawing attention to his (presumed) religion or ethnicity. Is there any known connection to religion or ethnicity that necessitates this?
There's a weird tone to the part about students being "sent to the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles for a three-hour visit before their June 6 graduation". It comes off like penance, or like a graduation requirement. (I assume that they were offered the chance to visit, like as a field trip, with no strings attached—but what do the sources say?)
I haven't reviewed it, but if Rialto-Unified-Holocaust-Documents-2014-05-22 is a link to students' work, isn't it most likely a copyright violation? Students aren't agents of the state, so their works are not public records, and they would be expected to have copyright in a reasoned written piece. (The fact that it was provided to the media for republication seems like a possible breach of trust too, but that's out of our scope.)

This was a critical thinking assignment, so I think it's in keeping with that spirit that we be assiduous about our own. TheFeds 06:08, 26 June 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks @TheFeds, these were sharp - went through all six. Softened "limited to three handouts", kept the "50" attributed to the Sun with "denied or doubted", dropped "under" for "while Islam was interim superintendent", trimmed his name to one full mention, reworded the museum bit, and pulled the WP:ELNEVER link to the student essays. Realengand (talk) 12:52, 26 June 2026 (UTC)[reply]