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 | This page in a nutshell: That phrase doesn't mean what you think it means. |
Well-meaning Wikipedians, fully aware of our core content policies and our guideline about fringe theories and covering them only with due weight, sometimes innocently suggest that we "teach the controversy" when presented with a real-world conflict in reliable sources.
"Teach the controversy" is not a general statement to apply to remaining neutral about a subject of social or research conflict. It's the catchphrase of a specific group of anti-evolution lobbyists, the Discovery Institute, to promote false balance by injecting creationism into the curricula of American public schools.
Even if it weren't a misappropriated slogan of theocratic pseudo-science, the idea is off-base anyway, for multiple reasons.