False attribution

False attribution may refer to:

Misattribution in general, when a quotation or work is accidentally, traditionally, or based on bad information attributed to the wrong person or group
A specific fallacy where an advocate appeals to an irrelevant, unqualified, unidentified, biased, or fabricated source in support of an argument.^[1]

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Incorrect identification of source

One particular case of misattribution is the Matthew effect. A quotation is often attributed to someone more famous than the real author. This leads the quotation to be more famous, but the real author to be forgotten (see also: obliteration by incorporation and Churchillian Drift).^[2]

Such misattributions may originate as a sort of fallacious argument, if use of the quotation is meant to be persuasive, and attachment to a more famous person (whether intentionally or through misremembering) would lend it more authority.

In Jewish biblical studies, an entire group of falsely-attributed books is known as the pseudepigrapha.

Fallacy

A fraudulent advocate may go so far as to fabricate a source in order to support a claim. For example, the "Levitt Institute" was a fake organisation created in 2009 solely for the purposes of (successfully) fooling the Australian media into reporting that Sydney was Australia’s most naive city.^[3]

Contextomy (quoting out of context) is a type of false attribution.^[4]

References

^ Humbug! The skeptic’s field guide to spotting fallacies in thinking, a textbook on fallacies. "False Attribution": p. 56.
^ Mermin, N. David (2004). "Could Feynman Have Said This?". Physics Today. 57 (5): 10–11. Bibcode:2004PhT....57e..10M. doi:10.1063/1.1768652.
^ "Deception Detection Deficiency". Media Watch. 2009-09-27. Archived from the original on 2021-12-16. Retrieved 2023-12-06.
^ McGlone, Matthew S. (2005). "Quoted Out of Context: Contextomy and Its Consequences". Journal of Communication. 55 (2): 330–346. doi:10.1111/j.1460-2466.2005.tb02675.x.

External links

Quote Investigator

Common fallacies (list)

Formal

In propositional logic	Affirming a disjunct Affirming the consequent Denying the antecedent Argument from fallacy Masked man Mathematical fallacy
In quantificational logic	Existential Illicit conversion Proof by example Quantifier shift
Syllogistic fallacy	Affirmative conclusion from a negative premise Negative conclusion from affirmative premises Exclusive premises Existential Necessity Four terms Illicit major Illicit minor Undistributed middle

Informal

Equivocation

Question-begging

Correlative-based

Illicit transference

Secundum quid

Faulty generalization

Ambiguity

Questionable cause

Animistic
- Furtive
Correlation implies causation
- Cum hoc
- Post hoc
Gambler's
- Inverse
Regression
Single cause
Slippery slope
Texas sharpshooter

Appeals

Consequences	Argumentum ad baculum Wishful thinking
Emotion	Children Fear Flattery Novelty Pity Ridicule In-group favoritism Invented here / Not invented here Island mentality Loyalty Parade of horribles Spite Stirring symbols Wisdom of repugnance

Genetic fallacy

Ad hominem	Appeal to motive Association Reductio ad Hitlerum Godwin's law Reductio ad Stalinum Bulverism Poisoning the well Tone Tu quoque Whataboutism
Authority Accomplishment Ipse dixit Poverty / Wealth Etymology Nature Tradition / Novelty Chronological snobbery

Other fallacies
of relevance

Arguments	Ad nauseam Sealioning Argument from anecdote Argument from silence Argument to moderation Argumentum ad populum
Cliché I'm entitled to my opinion Ignoratio elenchi Invincible ignorance Moralistic / Naturalistic Motte-and-bailey fallacy Rationalization Red herring Two wrongs make a right Special pleading Straw man

Category

This page was last edited on 29 April 2024, at 23:54

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