misquoters
They distort statements
Misquoters are people who quote others inaccurately, whether through carelessness, faulty memory, or deliberate distortion.
The term carries mild accusation—misquoters may twist someone's words to support their own argument or simply fail to verify their sources: The internet is full of misquoters attributing fake quotes to Einstein.
Unattributed use of others' work
- citationMention of a source
- sourcesPoints of origin
- footnotesMarginal citations below text
- scholarshipEducational funding or erudition
attribution · context · cherry-picking · misattribution · paraphrasing · bibliography · integrity · research
News gatherers and writers
- punditsExpert commentators on affairs
- reportersThose who gather news
- headlinesArticle titles in newspapers
- clickbaitSensationalized content for traffic
soundbites · tabloids · spin · sensationalism · out-of-context · paraphrasing · attribution · correction
Informal talk spreading rumors
- rumorsUnconfirmed circulating stories
- hearsayUnverified secondhand information
- exaggerationOverstating beyond reality
- distortionTwisting from original state
secondhand · retelling · misremembering · paraphrasing · anecdotes · storytelling · embellishment · inaccuracy
Those who compete against
- campaignsOrganized efforts toward goals
- speechesFormal spoken presentations
- debatesFormal argumentative exchanges
- politiciansElected government representatives
propaganda · smear · rhetoric · partisans · candidates · rallies · talking-points · fact-checkers
plagiarism
Unattributed use of others' work
scholarship · attribution · context · cherry-picking · misattribution · paraphrasing · bibliography · integrity · research · ellipsis
journalists
News gatherers and writers
- punditsExpert commentators on affairs
- reportersThose who gather news
- headlinesArticle titles in newspapers
clickbait · soundbites · tabloids · spin · sensationalism · out-of-context · paraphrasing · attribution · correction · retraction
gossip
Informal talk spreading rumors
- rumorsUnconfirmed circulating stories
- hearsayUnverified secondhand information
- exaggerationOverstating beyond reality
distortion · secondhand · retelling · misremembering · paraphrasing · anecdotes · storytelling · embellishment · inaccuracy · word-of-mouth
opponents
Those who compete against
- campaignsOrganized efforts toward goals
- speechesFormal spoken presentations
- debatesFormal argumentative exchanges
politicians · propaganda · smear · rhetoric · partisans · candidates · rallies · talking-points · fact-checkers · mudslinging
misquotersstenographers
People who record speech
reliable sources · fact-checkers · court reporters · archivists