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A comment on A Critical Problem – This photo gives me the creeps. Parent comment

Re:A Critical Problem – This photo gives me the creeps by cafard on Wednesday August 09, 2023 @06:36AM (#37060767)
My recollection from many years ago is that Norman Mailer coined "factoid" to refer that what looked like facts, were offered as facts, but weren't facts.
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Re:A Critical Problem – This photo gives me the creeps by Linosaurus on Wednesday August 09, 2023 @10:08AM (#37062874)
Yes, both meanings exists in dictionaries.

Fortunately usage has consolidated. In my experience a factoid is generally intended to be true in (American?) English, but untrue in Swedish.

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Re:A Critical Problem – This photo gives me the creeps by andrelaszlo on Thursday August 10, 2023 @04:58AM (#37073669)
Aha, thank you for explaining why the American use of the word bothers me! I guess it became a false friend?
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