Misquoted

To 'misquote' means to repeat or report words of another person inaccurately or incorrectly. This can happen through unintentional errors in memory, faulty transcription, or deliberate distortion to change the meaning or impact of the original statement. Misquoting can have significant consequences, especially in journalism, legal proceedings, or personal relationships, as it can lead to misunderstandings, disputes, or damage to reputations. The term emphasizes a deviation from the speaker's intended meaning or the precise wording they used, resulting in a representation that is either factually incorrect or subtly different from the original. Often, misquoting involves taking a statement out of context, making it sound more extreme or less nuanced than intended.

Misquoted meaning with examples

• The journalist, under pressure, had misquoted the CEO during the interview, leading to a public outcry about the company's environmental policies. The actual statement was much more nuanced, but the edited version made it sound as though he was deliberately ignoring scientific advice. This caused immediate damage, and he had to issue an apology to correct his mistake and the paper had to publish a retraction.
• In the heated debate, the politician misquoted his opponent's previous statement to portray them as inconsistent. He twisted their words in the way they were framed, which had many people believing the opponent was taking the position and acting in a certain way. This caused major political consequences.
• During the investigation, a witness misquoted the suspect's alibi, which inadvertently led the police to initially pursue the wrong leads. It turned out to be a case of a stressed individual recounting memories they could not fully remember which led to this error.
• The historian misquoted a primary source in their book, changing its meaning and leading to faulty analysis of the historical context. The change in the source led to a whole new interpretation of historical data that was ultimately found to be incorrect, forcing the book to be re-written.
• After a series of social media posts, many fans misquoted the artist's comments, fabricating drama around an upcoming tour. This led to online arguments between the fans, and the artist made a statement clarifying what was actually said during a live stream to set the record straight, and to reduce further confusion among fans.