Misquote

To inaccurately reproduce or attribute the words of another person or a written source. This can involve altering the original wording, taking a statement out of context, or mistakenly attributing words to the wrong individual. Misquoting often arises due to poor recall, transcription errors, or, sometimes, intentional distortion for rhetorical effect or to mislead an audience. It undermines the integrity of communication and can lead to misunderstanding or damage someone's reputation.

Misquote meaning with examples

• During the interview, the reporter completely misquoted the scientist, claiming he dismissed climate change as a hoax. In reality, the scientist emphasized the complexity of the issue and urged more research. This misquote damaged the scientist's credibility and caused significant backlash from environmental groups. The misquote caused a big fallout and left a cloud over the reporters integrity.
• The historian's book was criticized because it consistently misquoted primary source documents, changing crucial details to support his own biased interpretation. These inaccuracies undermined the book's scholarly value and led to widespread criticism from fellow academics. His work caused the history books to be taken out of public libraries for repairs to fix the errors in fact.
• The politician, in a desperate attempt to win support, shamelessly misquoted the opposing candidate's statement on tax reform, twisting their words to make it seem like they were advocating for an extreme measure. This deceptive tactic backfired, with the public seeing through the manipulation and the politician losing much of their support. In the end the tactic backfired spectacularly.
• A popular online blog frequently misquotes famous celebrities to generate clickbait headlines, often fabricating statements they never made. Although the blog receives heavy traffic the sources of this blog are very untrustworthy due to their continuous misquoting of the sources.
• The transcript of the court proceedings revealed that the stenographer had misquoted several key statements made by the defendant, which could potentially alter the jury's perception of the case. The lawyer quickly alerted the judge, who had the transcript corrected.