Quick Answer: A white paper is an informative report that explains a complex issue and presents the sponsor's philosophy on the matter. These documents are meant to help readers understand an issue, solve a problem, or make a decision. The term originated in the early 20th century to mean a type of position paper or industry report published by a department of the UK government. Earlier forms of these reports were called "command papers". White papers are used often in business, and sometimes in politics and academia. Since the 1990s, these documents have proliferated as sales or marketing documents in business; for more than 10 years, a majority of business-to-business marketers report that they created a white paper within the past year. A commercial white paper is akin to a marketing presentation designed to promote a certain product to customers. As such, it can be considered content marketing or grey literature.