Background

Carved out of T400939, the placeholder image treatment is tackled in separate place.
We've agreed on not showing a placeholder image and only reserve the space when a thumbnail is available.
Additionally we've identified that the erroneous icon in current implementation is also an unnecessary complication of things, and we defer to not showing

Goal

Placeholder image question is resolved

Requirement

Scope: ReadingLists (desktop + mobile).

• Placeholder images must not be shown in Reading List cards when an article has no thumbnail.
• No empty or reserved space should appear where a thumbnail would normally be.
• The card layout must automatically adjust to align text and metadata correctly when no image is present.

BDD

Feature: Remove placeholder image from Reading List cards

  Scenario: Article without thumbnail
    Given I view my Reading List
    When a saved article has no thumbnail
    Then the card does not display a placeholder image
    And no space is reserved for an image
    And the layout adjusts naturally

  Scenario: Article with thumbnail
    Given a saved article includes a thumbnail
    When the Reading List card is displayed
    Then the thumbnail image appears normally
    And the layout remains consistent

Test Steps

Test Case 1: Article without thumbnail

1. Open Special:ReadingLists containing at least one article without a thumbnail.
2. AC1: The Reading List card does not display a placeholder image.
3. AC2: No empty space is reserved where the image would be.
4. AC3: Text and description align correctly within the card.

Test Case 2: Article with thumbnail

5. Open Special:ReadingLists containing at least one article with a thumbnail.
6. AC4: The thumbnail displays as expected.
7. AC5: Layout remains consistent between cards with and without thumbnails.

QA Results - Beta

QA Results - Prod

Acceptance criteria for done

• Don't show placeholder and don't reserve space in Card for it
  • Don't show erroneous icon, if that's feasible – tackled in T406652