Questionable Quotes

We all love the pithy quote, the clever put-down, the witty bon mot, the scintillating turn of phrase. We store them away in our conversational jewelry boxes, waiting for just the right occasion to decorate our speeches with their sparkle. What we often don’t realize is that many of these glittering linguistic gems are not the real thing, but mere costume jewelry.

Bill Gates tweeted I guess we finally ran out of microchips a joke about COVID-19 or coronavirus vaccines in response to The Daily Show.

Bill Gates Tweets Joke About Microchips Conspiracy Theory Gates' joke came in response to a tweet from "The Daily Show's" Twitter account about...

Correct Attribution

pfizer ceo reduce world population 50 percent

Did Pfizer’s CEO Say He Wants To Reduce World Population by Half by 2023? The pharmaceutical giant is not trying to be Thanos.

False

Ben Franklin once said the quote without freedom of thought, there can be no such thing as wisdom; and no such thing as public liberty, without freedom of speech.

Did Ben Franklin Write About Freedom of Thought and Speech? A quote-meme was shared on Facebook that claimed Franklin once talked about the importance of...

Correct Attribution

There's no record that Elon Musk said the words in the quote I hate when people confuse education with intelligence or you can have a bachelor's degree and still be an idiot.

Did Musk Say ‘I Hate When People Confuse Education with Intelligence’? We looked for the origins of a quote about confusing education with intelligence that has...

Misattributed

Did Kentucky Derby Winner Turn Down White House Invite? You may have heard this "horse's ass" joke before.

False

According to a quote Morgan Freeman once said self-control is strength and calmness is mastery and you have to get to the point where your mood doesn't shift based on the insignificant actions of someone else and don't allow others to control the direction of your life and don't allow your emotions to overpower your intelligence.

Did Morgan Freeman Say ‘Self-Control Is Strength’? We looked for the origins of a quote with Morgan Freeman's name on it that...

Misattributed

Denzel Washington never said just because you don't share it on social media doesn't mean you are not up to big things and live it and stay low key as well as privacy is everything.

Did Denzel Washington Say, ‘Just Because You Don’t Share It on Social Media Doesn’t Mean You Are Not Up to Big Things’? We looked for the origins of a quote about social media that's been credited to...

Misattributed

Mel Gibson Didn’t Say ‘Hollywood is an Institutionalized Pedophile Ring’ In 2017, a network of hoax websites published a series of false claims that still...

False

According to a viral joke quote Jada Pinkett Smith said don't let your husband stop you from finding the love of your life.

Did Jada Pinkett Smith Say, ‘Don’t Let Your Husband Stop You from Finding the Love of Your Life’? Quote memes went around on Facebook and Twitter after actor Jada Pinkett Smith's husband, Will...

Misattributed

According to quote memes Tesla CEO Elon Musk once said wokeness gives people a shield to be mean and cruel armored in false virtue.

Did Elon Musk Say ‘Wokeness Gives People a Shield to be Mean and Cruel, Armored in False Virtue’? There's no shortage of fabricated quotes on the internet that purportedly came from noteworthy figures.

Correct Attribution

According to memes Benjamin Franklin once said beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.

Did Ben Franklin Say ‘Beer Is Proof that God Loves Us and Wants Us To Be Happy’? The passage about God, beer, and being happy has for years appeared in internet memes,...

False

According to a quote meme Keanu Reeves said no one has the right to judge you because no one really knows what you have been through and that they might have heard the stories but they didn't feel what you felt in your heart.

Did Keanu Reeves Say ‘No One Has the Right To Judge You’? A meme was posted to Facebook with a picture of actor Keanu Reeves, leading commenters...

Misattributed