Factoid
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Factoid can refer to a spurious (unverified, incorrect, or invented) "fact" intended to create or prolong public exposure or to manipulate public opinion. It appears in the Oxford English Dictionary[1] as "something which becomes accepted as fact, although it may not be true", namely a speculation or an assumption. The term was coined by Norman Mailer in his 1973 biography of Marilyn Monroe.[2] Mailer described a factoid as "facts which have no existence before appearing in a magazine or newspaper", and created the word by combining the word "fact" and the ending "-oid" to mean "like a fact".[3][4]
There are strong connections between factoids and urban legends.
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[edit] Examples
- It is commonly believed in the Australian city of Mount Isa that their city, in terms of its area, is the world's largest or second largest city. In reality Mount Isa is the largest city in Australia, but there are several larger cities around the world. Their own local council web site incorrectly suggests it is the second largest city on earth. [5]
- The media in Canada have often reported that the city of Toronto was named by UNESCO as the most multicultural city in the world. Although there have been some reports suggesting that Toronto may be one of the world's most diverse cities (see Demographics of Toronto), the United Nations agency has never designated any city as being the most multicultural or diverse. Nonetheless, the belief in this status persisted for years, even finding its way onto UNESCO's own web site,[6] into the pages of the New York Times,[7] and into international media reports in respect of Toronto's two Olympic bids.
- The Great Wall of China is often thought as being the only man-made object visible from space. [8]
- Gullible.info, an online compendium of fake trivia, was started in the fall of 2004 by Kyle Stoneman, then a ~19 years old political communications major at George Washington University, "as a social experiment parodying people's willingness to accept bits of information without question."[9] On April 27 2006 The Guardian ran a short piece about the soon expected filming of Timothy Leary's biography. The piece reported Leary had "claimed to have discovered a new primary colour - which he called gendale."[10] A month later Regret the Error, Craig Silverman's blog of journalism bloopers, published a posting titled "Guardian taps Gullible.info for a bogus Leary fact", the "fact" being Leary's said "claim".[11] At that time the Guardian still hadn't corrected their mistake,[12], but by mid December, when the mistake made Silverman's list of the "best" journalism mistakes of '06, Silverman reported the Guardian had fixed the mistake.[13][14]
[edit] Other meaning
Factoid is now sometimes also used to mean a small piece of true but valueless or insignificant information, in contrast to the original definition. This has been popularized by the CNN Headline News TV channel, which, during the 1980s and 1990s, used to frequently include such a fact under the heading "factoid" during newscasts. In the United Kingdom, BBC Radio 2 presenter Steve Wright uses factoids extensively on his show. [15]
As a result of confusion over the meaning of factoid, some English-language style and usage guides recommend against its use. [16]
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ (1991) in Simpson JA & Weiner ESC: The Compact Oxford English Dictionary, Second Edition. Clarendon Press. ISBN 0-19-861258-3.
- ^ Mailer, Norman (1973). Marilyn: A Biography. Grosset & Dunlap. ISBN 0-448-01029-1.
- ^ The Word Detective (October 18, 2000)
- ^ 'Factoids rule -- a "factoid" being the playful invention of novelist Norman Mailer, who defined a "factoid" as something that looks like a fact, could be a fact, but in fact is not a fact.' (Wesley Pruden, Editorial in Washington Times)
- ^ Mount Isa City Council page suggesting their city is the second largest city in the world
- ^ UNESCO Best Practices for Human Settlements: Metro Toronto's Changing Communities
- ^ Clyde H. Farnsworth,"Toronto Journal: To Battle Bigots, Help from South of the Border," New York Times, Friday, 12 February 1993, 4.
- ^ See Great Wall of China's visibility
- ^ [NAP]
- ^ [EUR]
- ^ [REG]
- ^ [REG]: "the Guardian still hasn't corrected its article."
- ^ [SIL]
- ^ [STA]
- ^ Wright, Steve (2005). Steve Wright's Book of Factoids. HarperCollins Entertainment. ISBN 0-00-720660-7.
- ^ Brians, Paul (2003). Common Errors in English Usage. William James & Company. ISBN 1-887902-89-9. [1]
[edit] References
- [EUR] Europe Intelligence Wire (From Guardian Unlimited). April 27 2006. "Miramax turns on to Leary". <http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-15033498_ITM>. Accessed February 22 2007.
- Apparently, the original, uncorrected version of the Guardian article.
- [NAP] Napoli, Lisa. March 10 2005. "A Gullible Clearinghouse and the Art of Signage" ("And Now, Fake Trivia"). ("Online Diary"). The New York Times (Technology). <http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/10/technology/circuits/10diary.html?ex=1172293200&en=19cbe6c8765db2bd&ei=5070>. Accessed February 22 2007.
- Napoli introduces Gullible.info, a compendium of fabricated information, and interviews its creator, a 19 years old political communications student.
- [REG] Regret the Error, Mistakes Happen. July 27 2006. "Guardian taps Gullible.info for a bogus Leary fact". <http://www.regrettheerror.com/2006/07/guardian_taps_g.html>. Accessed February 22 2007.
- Craig Silverman's journalism bloopers blog reports the Guardian used Gullibile.info's fabricated "gendale" factoid in one of its articles.
- [SIL] Silverman, Craig. December 13, 2006. "Crunks ’06: The Year in Media Errors and Corrections" ("The Check the Domain Award"). Regret the Error, Mistakes Happen. <http://www.regrettheerror.com/2006/12/crunks_06_the_y.html>. Accessed February 22 2007.
- Silverman lists the Guardian "gendale" affair as one of the "best" media errors of 2006, and reports of its correction.
- [STA] Staff and agencies. April 27 2006. "Miramax turns on to Leary". Guardian Unlimited (News). <http://film.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,1762429,00.html>. Accessed February 23 2007.
- The corrected Guardian article.
