The Black Market of Fake Quotes

Hi friends, 

Greetings from sunny Brooklyn!

Welcome to the 21 people who subscribed in this past week. I’m so thrilled to have you. Every Sunday, you’ll receive a short post about an idea I’m exploring and 2 or 3 curated links that I think are worth your time.

This week, I’m joining the 12th cohort of Building a Second Brain. I’m looking forward to learning new tricks to better capture, curate and distill the information I consume every day. But I’m even more excited to meet the photographers, entrepreneurs, writers, doctors, engineers and diplomats who are part of this community of curious minds.

Until next week, 

Florian 

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Source: Visual Society

Quotes are like pieces of art. 

Just like art, we enjoy looking at them and letting ourselves be drawn into the truth they hold. 

And just like art, they are ruthlessly forged.   

A few weeks back I was reading one of my favorite newsletters when a quote at the bottom caught my attention:

"To be or not to be. That is not really a question.” - Jean Luc Godard

Something felt off about this line. 

I went on a Google hunt for the context in which the illustrious film director might have said this. Nothing.

Perhaps he said that in an interview dug out from a dark corner of the Internet? I had to know so I emailed the editor.

Here's what they answered:

🙃

I don't know what I found more disappointing in this answer. Having to abandon the thought that Godard may for once have said something funny. Or the casual lack of intellectual integrity displayed by the editor of one of my (once) favorite newsletters.

As I dug a little deeper, I discovered that quotes are counterfeited pretty much with the same level of impunity as Gucci bags and Rolex watches.

Let's take a look at some all-time favorites:

"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."

Voltaire? Nope, he never said that. One of his biographers wrote it as an interpretation of his philosophy.

"Be the change you want to see in the world." Gandhi right? Not quite. He did say something like that but it's much longer and a lot less Tweetable.  

"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe." Einstein? Unfortunately not. 

“Be yourself. Everybody else is already taken.” Oscar Wilde you say? There’s no evidence he ever said that.   

I could go on.

I hope by now I’ve planted enough doubt in your mind that you feel compelled to go and check the authenticity of your favorite quote. 

But how do you recognize a fake?

There are a few things you can do. Here’s 3 steps that will help you keep those phonies in check:  

• Look for red flags: If BrainyQuote seems to be the only source around, you know you’re onto something fishy. Is the quote also plastered on pictures of pretty landscapes? Go ahead and sound the alarm.  

• Check the Most Wanted list: Fake quotes enjoy a high level of diplomatic immunity but the worst offenders are well known. Are you ready to face the ugly truth? Look out for the tag “attributed-no-source” on Goodreads or take a tour of Wikiquote. That’s right, your favorite morsel of wisdom is nothing but cheap counterfeit medicine.   

• Read the Making-of: The best part is not even catching a fake, it’s the story behind the forgery. Quote Investigator is a treasure trove of the History about how some of the most famous quotes were fabricated. That’s what I’m talking about. 

As Algernon says to Jack in The Importance of Being Earnest:

“The truth is rarely pure and never simple”.

It is, however, always worth pursuing. So check your quotes.

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Weekly Wisdom

👩‍👦Mothers: Today is Mother’s Day which is a good opportunity to remind ourselves that mothers are still far from receiving the support they deserve. This 12-minute short film vividly captures the crushing burden single mothers have to face.

🏙️ Don’t be a Tourist: My friend Julien and I share a common obsession: experiencing a city we visit through the eyes of people who live there. It’s hard to do when you’re only spending a weekend there. The good news is that Julien is launching “Don’t be Tourist”, a series of guides to New York, Paris and Los Angeles curated by locals for the conscious urban traveler.

Lateral Thought

“It never ceases to amaze me: we all love ourselves more than other people, but care more about their opinion than our own.”

Marcus Aurelius