pseudo-history
History without facts
Pseudo-history presents fabricated, distorted, or unsubstantiated claims about the past while mimicking the appearance of legitimate historical scholarship.
Unlike honest errors or evolving interpretations, pseudo-history typically serves an agenda—political, religious, or ideological—and ignores or cherry-picks evidence to support predetermined conclusions.
Common examples include Holocaust denial, ancient astronaut theories, and claims about lost civilizations.
The documentary looked professional but was pure pseudo-history.
Deliberate alteration of truth
- forgeryCreating fraudulent imitations
- hoaxDeliberate deception for effect
- mythmakingCrafting foundational narratives
- revisionismReexamining established doctrine
Biased information for influence
- nationalismDevotion to one's country
- revisionismReexamining established doctrine
- denialRefusal to accept reality
- mythologizingMaking legendary or sacred
whitewashing · Holocaust denial · Lost Cause · founding myths · ethnonationalism · indoctrination · selective memory · glorification
Defunct ancient cultures
- AtlantisMythical sunken island
- hidden knowledgeInformation deliberately kept concealed
- cover-upHiding wrongdoing from public
- secret societiesOrganizations operating in concealment
Mu · Lemuria · pyramids · ancient astronauts · Nephilim · giants · fringe theory · esoteric knowledge
Contrary-to-fact supposition
- what-ifHypothetical scenario query
- steampunkRetrofuturistic Victorian science fiction
- retconRetroactive narrative revision
- anachronismHistorical time-placement error
falsification
Deliberate alteration of truth
- forgeryCreating fraudulent imitations
- hoaxDeliberate deception for effect
- mythmakingCrafting foundational narratives
propaganda
Biased information for influence
- nationalismDevotion to one's country
- revisionismReexamining established doctrine
- denialRefusal to accept reality
mythologizing · whitewashing · Holocaust denial · Lost Cause · founding myths · ethnonationalism · indoctrination · selective memory · glorification · rewriting
lost civilizations
Defunct ancient cultures
- AtlantisMythical sunken island
- hidden knowledgeInformation deliberately kept concealed
- cover-upHiding wrongdoing from public
secret societies · Mu · Lemuria · pyramids · ancient astronauts · Nephilim · giants · fringe theory · esoteric knowledge · hidden past
counterfactual
Contrary-to-fact supposition
- what-ifHypothetical scenario query
- steampunkRetrofuturistic Victorian science fiction
- retconRetroactive narrative revision
anachronism · divergent timeline · worldbuilding · period fiction
- satirelampoon, parody, parody account, political satire, spoof
- creative libertiesartistic license, poetic license, liberties, creative liberties, fictionalization
- alternate historiescounterfactual, divergent timeline
pseudo-historyacademic history
Record of formal education
history · historiography · academic scholarship · academic research
history, historical, pseudo, pseudonym, historian, pseudoscience