false attribution
Crediting wrong source
False attribution is crediting a statement, work, or idea to the wrong source.
This includes misquoting someone, attaching a famous name to an anonymous saying, or citing a source that doesn't actually support a claim.
That Einstein quote you posted? False attribution—he never said it.
The term appears in academic contexts discussing citation errors and in popular debunking of viral misquotes.
- misquoteInaccurate citation
- put words in someone's mouthFalsely claim another's statement
- plagiarismUnattributed use of others' work
- pseudepigraphaFalsely attributed literary works
- misattributionCrediting the wrong source
fake quote · miscrediting · fraud · fake news · hoax · apocrypha · misinformation · anachronism · misremembering · urban legend · viral hoax · forgery · deepfake · fact check · provenance · ghostwriting · wrongly · misunderstanding
- authorshipauthorship, author bio, byline, attributed, credited
- academic fraudplagiarism, academic dishonesty, exam cheating, fake degrees, diploma mills
- fallaciesstraw man, red herring, circular reasoning, ad hominem, fallacy
- forgeriesforged passport, forged signature, forged check, fake passport, fake ID
- forgerycounterfeit, fake, falsification, art forgery, forged signature
- literary theftsplagiarism, copying