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When it comes to notability, how old is too old for a claim to be considered notable?

I ask because I had a claim from 1943 considered somewhat unsuitable, on the basis that people who believed the claim then may not do so now. Does it make sense to limit claims like that?

Given that people alive in 1943 are still alive in 2012, can the claim really be considered too old?

Should a claim of any age be allowed as long as it is notable and isn't obviously false?

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The claims allowed are those that are notable now.

If the claim still has a lot of people believing in it, then it's ok. If the claim is now only believed by an handful of people, then it's no longer a notable claim anymore.

The actual date of the claim does not matter as long as it's still notable now.

The policy regarding notability is in place to ensure that "someone else believes the claim they're asking you to fact-check" and a notable person making that claim is considered an acceptable way to establish belief. A claim made a long time ago isn't necessarily still believed nowadays. If it's still believed today, it should not be too hard to find a more recent quote making a similar claim.

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  • We often allow claims as long as they are from a notable source, even if a lot of people don't believe in it. So then, should a claim in an article from a paper in 1943 be acceptable? Feb 1, 2012 at 14:21

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