Talk:Factoid/Archives/2015

Definition

The definition here which implies that 'factoid' no longer means a spurious fact is not backed up by the following sources. My own understanding of the word is also in line with these sources. As a result I have altered the definition.

A piece of unverified or inaccurate information that is presented in the press as factual, often as part of a publicity effort The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

something resembling a fact; unverified (often invented) information that is given credibility because it appeared in print Source: WordNet ® 2.0, © 2003 Princeton University

Factoid Killer 17:26, 18 November 2005 (UTC)

"Factoid" is not a factoid

Looking for some non-factoid source for this article. Note that factoids are not necessarily false, and that the word has been in recorded use for over 30 years. See quote from the Oxford English Dictionary below. Factoid from oed.com

factoid, n. and a.

A. n. Something that becomes accepted as a fact, although it is not (or may not be) true; spec. an assumption or speculation reported and repeated so often that it is popularly considered true; a simulated or imagined fact.

1973 N. MAILER Marilyn i. 18/2 Factoids..that is, facts which have no existence before appearing in a magazine or newspaper, creations which are not so much lies as a product to manipulate emotion in the Silent Majority. 1977 MCKNIGHT & TOBLER Bob Marley v. 60 On such flimsy evidence, many is the factoid that has been created. 1982 Listener 11 Feb. 34/1 A vicious circle of misinformation and garbled folklore factoids. 1983 Washington Post Mag. 19 June 9/2 They spend their days with ‘factoids’data produced by a computer's simulation of the world as it might be. 1987 I. RUFF Dead Reckoning 59 A record not of the actual truth but a series of semi-fictional factoids.

B. adj. Of or having the character of a factoid, quasi-factual; spec. designating writing (esp. journalism) which contains a mixture of fact and supposition or invention presented as accepted fact.

1976 Daily Tel. 18 Feb. 14/3 The current television trend of ‘factoid’ journalism, reporting events which may have happened. 1977 Even. Standard 20 June 2/3 This..space mystery, presented in factoid form as a news report. 1980 Encounter Oct. 30/2 It is a valuable and entertaining, if partisan and factoid, chapter in the struggle to reveal the intimate secrets of the judiciary to those it exists to serve.

SmokeyJoe 22:17, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

“Something that becomes accepted as a fact, although it is not (or may not be) true” — Then what about something that was accepted (through mass-media) as a fact and only after- and because of that became true? It's still a bit confusing, but I think that's what has happened with this term. DaemonDice (talk) 15:24, 24 July 2011 (UTC)

Mount Isa factoid

The Mount Isa page itself states that Mount Isa is not even the largest municipality (in terms of area) in Australia. That Mount Isa is the largest city in the world is certainly a factoid, but that it may be the largest in Australia (as this article presently states) may also be one. I'd correct it, but I'm not actually sure which is correct, and don't have a reference to back it up. If there's someone who can, that would be good. Quadparty (talk) 03:47, 29 September 2008 (UTC)

Yeah, the List of cities by surface area has a *fairly* reliable reference to the size of Mount Isa and City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder, Western Australia, and Mount Isa is really second. --Martaskolda2 (talk) 01:03, 12 October 2008 (UTC)

I intend to fix this article according to the facts

Multiple dictionaries give both of two contradictory meanings. Both are correct by a proper interpretation of Mailer, whose opinion was that certain facts' appearance in print tended to distort perceptions. I'm going to give this a day or two seeking comment, but Wikipedia is not in the business of redefining words. Factoids are often true things that are trivial, serve mainly to entertain, or are simply tersely stated (without reference to whether they have value).Julzes (talk) 04:00, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

I've reconsidered. I suspect there could be a lot of work required to win an edit war on this one, but the article does currently over-marginalize the common second definition that 43% of usage experts fully accepted in 2009 according to American Heritage. A web search reveals a large body of evidence in support of both definitions, and the OED in its current version is not freely available for me to ascertain whether the 2nd definition isn't given there. Anybody reading this should bear in mind that usage of 'factoid' is only going to be ambiguous in certain limited contexts. Usually the reader or listener expects that when someone is saying something is a factoid, they know beforehand which meaning is intended. It is definitely an ambiguous word though.Julzes (talk) 23:11, 26 December 2010 (UTC)

Yes - the heading of this topic is nicely ironic. Don't you guys realise that most words are ambiguous. The search for a single unambigous meaning is futile, and the desire for it fascistic or Newspeakish; several meanings should be given, which the article now does. Words mean what you want them to mean, as pointed out by Humpty Dumpty. G4oep 09:51, 30 October 2014‎ (UTC)

"Factoid," ironically, is a factoid

The word, in common usage, has been conflated with "factette." Google the word, and *every* result that is not discussing the true definition of the word is applying it to *true* snippets of information, even citing reputable sources. This usage can most certainly be described as having been "repeated so often that it is popularly considered true." [from oed.com, quoted above] IMHO, the adoption of this usage cheapens the word, and the English language is poorer as a result. Themichaud (talk) 13:09, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

Introduction

The introduction, and in-particular the leading sentence, needs to be rewritten.

Though a 'factoid' was item of unreliable information that is reported and repeated so often that it becomes accepted as fact, the term is used more often today with the North American connotations [eg., __a brief or trivial item of news or information__].

Should there be a tag placed on the article? --J. D. Redding 17:18, 20 June 2012 (UTC)