# Locating a quotation - concerning accuracy of media - Mark Twain? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 1, 2023, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/locating-a-quotation-concerning-accuracy-of-media-mark-twain/993938 "2023-12-01T04:11:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2023, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/locating-a-quotation-concerning-accuracy-of-media-mark-twain/993938/1 "2023-12-01T04:11:43Z")
I’m sure I once read a pithy quote attributed to Mark Twain\* that was broadly to the effect that people who have been involved in events reported in a newspaper know that newspapers are significantly inaccurate, but the same people nonetheless take stories about events in which they were not involved as being the gospel truth. Maybe my Google-fu is failing me or maybe I’m mis-remembering but for the life of me I can’t find the quote anywhere attributed to anyone, Mark Twain or otherwise. Can anyone locate it? \*recognising that numerous quotes are attributed to Mark Twain inaccurately ---
**Author:** ![JeffB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeffb/32/188_2.png) [@JeffB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JeffB)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2023, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/locating-a-quotation-concerning-accuracy-of-media-mark-twain/993938/2 "2023-12-01T04:21:34Z")
You may be referring to what is known as Knoll’s Law of Media Accuracy: > [@](#): > > Everything you read in the newspapers is absolutely true except for the rare story of which you happen to have firsthand knowledge. Supposedly named for [Erwin Knoll](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erwin_Knoll). ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2023, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/locating-a-quotation-concerning-accuracy-of-media-mark-twain/993938/3 "2023-12-01T04:25:40Z")
That has to be it, thanks very much ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2023, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/locating-a-quotation-concerning-accuracy-of-media-mark-twain/993938/4 "2023-12-01T04:32:29Z")
“If you don’t read the newspaper you’re uninformed, if you read the newspaper you’re misinformed” ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2023, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/locating-a-quotation-concerning-accuracy-of-media-mark-twain/993938/5 "2023-12-01T04:34:05Z")
Yeah, that’s the quote that I kept finding when I tried to search for the quote I was actually looking for. But @JeffB has hit the nail on the head. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2023, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/locating-a-quotation-concerning-accuracy-of-media-mark-twain/993938/6 "2023-12-01T04:35:37Z")
It may be misattributed to Twain. Seems Google has the same problem with misinformation. 😊 ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2023, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/locating-a-quotation-concerning-accuracy-of-media-mark-twain/993938/7 "2023-12-01T04:42:53Z")
The quote that the OP instantly brought to mind for me was basically Knoll’s Law in reverse - Despite knowing how wrong the media is in subjects of which they have knowledge people still assume that they are accurate about everything else. Where I saw it I have no idea but I liked it and remembered it. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2023, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/locating-a-quotation-concerning-accuracy-of-media-mark-twain/993938/8 "2023-12-01T04:44:47Z")
Well, assuming Knoll’s law is sarcasm, then what I was looking for was Knoll’s law in forward. ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2023, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/locating-a-quotation-concerning-accuracy-of-media-mark-twain/993938/9 "2023-12-01T12:34:10Z")
_“Don’t believe everything you read on the internet.”_ -Abraham Lincoln ---
**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2023, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/locating-a-quotation-concerning-accuracy-of-media-mark-twain/993938/10 "2023-12-02T19:06:31Z")
Another possibly apocryphal Twain saying was: isn’t is surprising that there’s always just enough news every day to fill the newspaper… ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2023, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/locating-a-quotation-concerning-accuracy-of-media-mark-twain/993938/11 "2023-12-02T19:13:42Z")
Not quite. [![](https://www.brainyquote.com/photos_tr/en/j/jerryseinfeld/100233/jerryseinfeld1-2x.jpg) ](https://www.brainyquote.com/photos_tr/en/j/jerryseinfeld/100233/jerryseinfeld1-2x.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2023, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/locating-a-quotation-concerning-accuracy-of-media-mark-twain/993938/12 "2023-12-02T19:16:42Z")
I don’t think Seinfield was the first to make that obseration? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Falchion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a88e57/32.png) [@Falchion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Falchion)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2023, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/locating-a-quotation-concerning-accuracy-of-media-mark-twain/993938/13 "2023-12-02T20:05:04Z")
You may also be thinking of Michael Crichton’s “Gell-Mann Amnesia”. > **[A quote by Michael Crichton](https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/65213-briefly-stated-the-gell-mann-amnesia-effect-is-as-follows-you)** > > Briefly stated, the Gell-Mann Amnesia effect is as follows. You open the newspaper to an article on some subject you know well. In Murray's case, physics... ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2023, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/locating-a-quotation-concerning-accuracy-of-media-mark-twain/993938/14 "2023-12-02T20:09:35Z")
It’s a very popular quote among copy editors, a group to which I once belonged, and Seinfeld is the only source for anything similar I’ve heard. I’d love to hear an earlier variant. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2023, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/locating-a-quotation-concerning-accuracy-of-media-mark-twain/993938/15 "2023-12-03T17:40:13Z")
> [@Falchion](#): > > You may also be thinking of Michael Crichton’s “Gell-Mann Amnesia”. Wow, that’s ironic, coming from Crichton of all people. He’s built his career on science that looks right to everyone except those who know. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2023, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/locating-a-quotation-concerning-accuracy-of-media-mark-twain/993938/16 "2023-12-03T20:43:36Z")
Maybe it’s ironic, or maybe he was just sharing his secret sauce with the whole world. Hiding in plain sight if you will. Rephrased for him personally, the “Gell-Mann amnesia” effect becomes: > I know non-science people will buy my BS science totally and therefore buy my books happily. Yaay me!! ---
**Author:** ![Coriolanus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coriolanus/32/18769_2.png) [@Coriolanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coriolanus)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2023, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/locating-a-quotation-concerning-accuracy-of-media-mark-twain/993938/17 "2023-12-04T01:15:36Z")
I have to admit, I’d almost have liked to know he said something like this regarding the media. Yet in his time print was all about stories of far off places. “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calveras County” was written by him after something he heard - yet I’ve not doubt every bit of it is true. I always liked the bit that he would say he was born in the year of Halley’s comet and would die when it passed again. Actually, I liked the great actor Hal Holbrook who would tour as Mr. Clemens and say these kinds of things. > _“Mark Twain was undecided whether to be more amused or annoyed when a_ Journal _representative informed him today of the report in New York that he was dying in poverty in London … The great humorist, while not perhaps very robust, is in the best of health. He said: ‘I can understand perfectly how the report of my illness got about, I have even heard on good authority that I was dead. James Ross Clemens, a cousin of mine, was seriously ill two or three weeks ago in London, but is well now. The report of my illness grew out of his illness. The report of my death was an exaggeration.’”_