misattribution
Credit given incorrectly
Misattribution is crediting something to the wrong source—a quote to the wrong speaker, a painting to the wrong artist, a discovery to the wrong scientist.
The quote is frequently misattributed to Einstein.
In psychology, misattribution refers to incorrectly identifying the cause of an emotion or sensation: mistaking caffeine jitters for anxiety, or attraction for love.
Invented memories believed true
- suggestibilityReadiness to accept influence
- misrememberingInaccurate mental retrieval
Creating fraudulent imitations
- fakeNot the real thing
- authenticationConfirming genuine identity
- provenanceRecord of ownership
- connoisseurshipRefined evaluative expertise
Not formally recognized
- appropriationUnauthorized claiming or allocation
- unattributedHaving no stated origin
- ghostwritingWriting anonymously for others
- piracySeaborne theft or bootlegging
Not formally recognized
- uncreditedNot formally recognized
- anonymousOf unknown origin
- pseudonymousUsing a false name
- apocryphalUnverified and probably untrue
Unfairly blamed person
- finger-pointingAssigning blame openly
- unfairUnjust or partial
- injusticeDenial of fair treatment
- defamationFalse statements harming reputation
slander · vilify · implicate · incriminate · persecute · victimization · reproach · condemn
confabulation
Invented memories believed true
- suggestibilityReadiness to accept influence
- misrememberingInaccurate mental retrieval
forgery
Creating fraudulent imitations
- fakeNot the real thing
- authenticationConfirming genuine identity
- provenanceRecord of ownership
misquote
Inaccurate citation
- spuriousFalse though appearing genuine
uncredited
Not formally recognized
- appropriationUnauthorized claiming or allocation
- unattributedHaving no stated origin
- ghostwritingWriting anonymously for others
unacknowledged
Not formally recognized
- uncreditedNot formally recognized
- anonymousOf unknown origin
- pseudonymousUsing a false name
scapegoat
Unfairly blamed person
- finger-pointingAssigning blame openly
- unfairUnjust or partial
- injusticeDenial of fair treatment
defamation · slander · vilify · implicate · incriminate · persecute · victimization · reproach · condemn · frame
exoneration
Official clearing of blame
- art attributionauthorship, credit, signature, authentication, reattribution
- authorshipauthorship, author bio, byline, credited, pseudonym
- media errorstypo, misquote, factual error, misspelling, correction
- misinformationmisinformation, disinformation, fake news, falsehoods, hoaxes
- memory errorsmemory leak, false memory, memory distortion, confabulation, source confusion
- deceptionlie, lies, lying, fake, fraud