Viral Misattribution
The phenomenon by which a quotation snowballs into being attributed to a more famous figure online.
Viral misattribution is the predictable internet phenomenon in which a quote is, over time, attached to whichever famous figure makes it most shareable. Lines drift from their real authors toward Einstein, Twain, Lincoln, Churchill, Gandhi, Marilyn Monroe, and Buddha because those names are what makes the graphic spread.
The mechanism is simple. A clever line attributed to 'Anonymous' gets one share. The same line attributed to Einstein gets a thousand. After a few weeks, the Einstein version is the only one anyone has seen, and the actual author is buried.
The defensive habit is to assume that any famous quote you encounter for the first time on a graphic is misattributed until proven otherwise. The careful version is to spend two minutes with Quote Investigator before sharing.
“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”
Keep reading the glossary
Assigning a quote to the wrong person — the most common error in quotation.
A research tradition (and a well-known website) devoted to tracing the true origin of famous quotations.
A quote deliberately invented and attributed to someone for credibility, humour, or harm.
The convention of citing only the author's name when quoting in casual writing.