Category: Fake Quotes

Fake Churchill Quotations: Democracy, Life, Living, Enemies

Fake Churchill Quotations: Democracy, Life, Living, Enemies

<> Among fake quotations, this one is famous. It was revived by broadcaster Trevor Phillips in The Times. Mr. Phillips was explaining that British Conservatives, almost certainly to be the Opposition after the next election, need to stand strong—particularly against themselves. No quarrel with his logic, only his attribution.

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Teapot Tempest: DeSantis Misquote Goes Viral

Teapot Tempest: DeSantis Misquote Goes Viral

Note! This post falls under the title "pedantry." As I said when Politifact asked: Who cares? Many fake Churchill quotes like Governor DeSantis uttered are honorable things for anyone to have said, and Churchill said many things like them. We like to keep the record straight, and we will keep doing the job of verifying. But these are not big questions, of which there are plenty. RML

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D-Day +79: “Rough Men Stand Ready,” a Shared Sentiment

D-Day +79: “Rough Men Stand Ready,” a Shared Sentiment

On the 79th anniversary of D-Day, this quote is likely to come up again. Neither Churchill's nor Orwell's, it nevertheless resounds with their sentiments. Quote Investigator provides a vast subtext to the various appearances and credits of “Rough men stand ready” over the years. Their conclusion is that no one specifically said the words. But Kipling may have inspired them, and Orwell paraphrased them, and they are in the Churchill spirit.

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Churchill’s Word Play: “Notability or Notoriety”

Churchill’s Word Play: “Notability or Notoriety”

Manfred Weidhorn: "The law of averages dictates that some of these dreamers succeed. Churchill was one of them. Hence he is the hero of our hypothetical non-realistic novel. As a young man, Churchill put the world on notice with his memorably declared resolve to be an achiever by either notability or notoriety."

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ChatGPT on Churchill Quotes: Yes, We Have No Bananas

ChatGPT on Churchill Quotes: Yes, We Have No Bananas

They may have slipped on this banana, but ChatGBT has only been at this for a few years. "Give them another five years and they'll probably have picked up every word Churchill wrote." So, before we lazily laugh at the tech boffins' failure accurately to pinpoint the Great Man's every word, we might stop to consider: this is just getting started. Or as Churchill was wont to say on occasion: "Let not the slothful chortle."

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Bull in a China Shop: John Foster Dulles? Not Churchill’s Line

Bull in a China Shop: John Foster Dulles? Not Churchill’s Line

"This fellow preaches like a Methodist Minister, and his bloody text is always the same: that nothing but evil can come out of meeting with Malenkov. Dulles is a terrible handicap. Ten years ago I could have dealt with him.... I have been humiliated by my own decay."

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Churchill’s Coming Sesquicentennial: When Eagles are Silent…

Churchill’s Coming Sesquicentennial: When Eagles are Silent…

"Don't worry about attacks on Churchill. He is alive and kicking and haunts the British imagination like no other. He will always be caricatured, as he was in his lifetime. But freedom of speech and expression was one of the things he fought for, and in his time he gave as good as he got. The more provocative comments about him are a backhanded tribute, as they work on the assumption that most people admire him." —Paul Addison

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“Why Hasn’t Gandhi Died Yet?” Another Churchill Non-quotation

“Why Hasn’t Gandhi Died Yet?” Another Churchill Non-quotation

Wavell did write this, but it was not a quote—and fairly peevish itself. Why don’t the critics publish what Churchill actually said? Here it is: "Surely Mr. Gandhi has made a most remarkable recovery, as he is already able to take an active part in politics. How does this square with the medical reports upon which his release on grounds of ill-health was agreed to by us? In one of these we were told that he would not be able to take any part in politics again."

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Churchill Now: A Life Worth Contemplating in the Digital Age

Churchill Now: A Life Worth Contemplating in the Digital Age

Larry Arnn wrote: "Churchill's life is an object lesson in the art of statesmanship. Prudence, involving ‘calculating and ordering many things that shift and change,’ has from ancient times been held to be the defining virtue and art of the statesman.” Churchill's challenges were those of human nature and governance, relevant to his world and ours. “Churchill’s trial is also our trial.”

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Safeguarding the Arts: Churchill Quotes and Misquotes

Safeguarding the Arts: Churchill Quotes and Misquotes

"The Arts are essential to any complete national life.... Ill fares the race which fails to salute the arts with the reverence and delight which are their due" (Churchill, April 1938). "No, bury them in caves and cellars. None must go. We are going to beat them" (Churchill, June 1940).

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