Editing Eurovision Wiki:Neutral point of view/Noticeboard (section)

== Shebakia: Infobox "Place of origin: Ottoman Empire" contradicted by cited source and article's own categories ==
{{cait|—&nbsp;'''''[[User:Newslinger|<span style="color:#536267;">Newslinger</span>]]'''&nbsp;<small>[[User talk:Newslinger#top|<span style="color:#708090;">talk</span>]]</small>'' 19:54, 1 March 2026 (UTC)}}
I am filing this notice regarding the article [[Shebakia]] (also known as Chebakia), a Moroccan pastry. The article has a significant and persistent [[WP:NPOV]] problem that has resisted correction for years and has resulted in the page being semi-protected multiple times.

=== The problem ===

The article's infobox states '''Place of origin: Ottoman Empire'''. The article lead also states: ''"Chebakia is from the Ottoman desserts culture."''

Both claims rely on a single source: Oktay S, Sadıkoğlu S. "The gastronomic cultures' impact on the African cuisine." ''Journal of Ethnic Foods'' (2018). DOI: 10.1016/j.jef.2018.02.005.

There are three compounding NPOV problems:

'''1. The cited source contradicts itself — and Wikipedia uses only the weaker half.'''

The paper, in the very same Morocco section cited, explicitly describes Chebakia as follows (verbatim, p.6):

: ''"Another famous and traditional type of dessert is '''Chebakia dessert which is a Moroccan sesame cookie''' shaped into a flower, fried, and then coated with honey."''

Then, several sentences later, as a brief closing remark:

: ''"The dessert varieties chebakia and m'hanncha are from Ottoman desserts culture."''

The Wikipedia article ignores the paper's own primary characterization ("a Moroccan sesame cookie") and elevates the passing closing remark into a standalone lead-sentence declaration. This is selective quotation that violates [[WP:NPOV]] and [[WP:SYNTHESIS]].

'''2. The article's own categories contradict the infobox.'''

The article categorizes Shebakia under [[Category:Moroccan cuisine]], [[Category:Algerian cuisine]], and [[Category:Arab cuisine]] — none of which is the Ottoman Empire. Morocco was never part of the Ottoman Empire; it maintained full sovereignty under the Saadian and Alaouite dynasties throughout the Ottoman period. Labelling this as "Place of origin: Ottoman Empire" is geographically and historically inaccurate.

'''3. The source does not have the weight to support the claim.'''

The paper is a 7-page broad tourism management overview of four African countries' cuisines. Both authors (Serdar Oktay and Saide Sadıkoğlu, Near East University, Nicosia, Cyprus) have no published specialist work on Moroccan culinary history. The paper was published "Article in Press" (with unassigned volume/issue numbers, "xx (2018)") at the time the citation was added. Under [[WP:RS]] and [[WP:WEIGHT]], a passing remark in a non-specialist overview paper cannot override multiple dedicated sources on Moroccan cuisine (Sheen 2011, ''Foods of Morocco''; Benkabbou 2018, ''Casablanca: My Moroccan Food''; Lonely Planet 2018) that consistently characterize Chebakia as Moroccan.

=== History of dispute ===

Multiple editors have attempted to correct these issues in good faith since at least 2022. All attempts have been reverted, primarily by user [[User:M.Bitton]], citing the Oktay & Sadıkoğlu paper. The page has been semi-protected multiple times due to "persistent disruptive editing" — though the edits being labelled disruptive were sourced attempts to correct an inaccuracy. The full discussion, including the primary source analysis, is at [[Talk:Shebakia#Infobox_.22Place_of_origin.22_and_Ottoman_claim_are_misleading_.E2.80.94_proposal_to_correct_with_sources]].

=== Requested action ===

Neutral editors are asked to review the cited source in full (available at https://www.researchgate.net/publication/321825188) and assess whether:
# The infobox "Place of origin" should be changed from "Ottoman Empire" to "Morocco / Maghreb"
# The sentence "Chebakia is from the Ottoman desserts culture" should be removed from the lead or substantially reworded to reflect the nuanced history described in the article's own History section

A parallel notice is being filed at [[WP:RSN]] regarding the reliability and correct application of the Oktay & Sadıkoğlu (2018) citation.
{{caib}}
[[User:Bohosquare1|Bohosquare1]] ([[User talk:Bohosquare1|talk]]) 07:30, 1 March 2026 (UTC)
: Hi {{u|Bohosquare1}}, I have collapsed your comment here per [[WP:AITALK]], as it was clearly generated by a [[WP:LLM|large language model]] (i.e. an [[AI chatbot]]). I would normally say that you are free to rephrase your inquiry in your own words, but [[WP:RSN#Shebakia: Is Oktay & Sadıkoğlu (2018) in Journal of Ethnic Foods being correctly applied to support "Place of origin: Ottoman Empire"?|your same inquiry at WP:RSN]] had already received responses, and opening two simultaneous noticeboard inquiries stating the same arguments is generally discouraged. —&nbsp;'''''[[User:Newslinger|<span style="color:#536267;">Newslinger</span>]]'''&nbsp;<small>[[User talk:Newslinger#top|<span style="color:#708090;">talk</span>]]</small>'' 19:54, 1 March 2026 (UTC)