Factoid

A common factoid is the incorrect claim that the Great Wall of China is visible from space with the naked eye.

A factoid is either a false statement presented as a fact,[1][2] or a true but brief or trivial item of news or information.

The term was coined in 1973 by American writer Norman Mailer to mean a piece of information that becomes accepted as a fact even though it is not actually true, or an invented fact believed to be true because it appears in print.[3] Since the term's invention in 1973, it has become used to describe a brief or trivial item of news or information.

  1. ^ "factoid: definition of factoid in Merriam-Webster Dictionary (US)". Merriam-Webster. Retrieved November 14, 2015.
  2. ^ "factoid: definition of factoid in Oxford dictionary (American English) (US)". Oxford Dictionaries Online. Archived from the original on June 14, 2013. Retrieved July 13, 2015.
  3. ^ Dickson, Paul (April 30, 2014). "The origins of writerly words". Time. Retrieved November 14, 2015.