About the museum

Would this exist in a great museum?

Misquote Museum preserves the true history behind the world's most famous quotations. Rather than labeling quotes “real” or “fake,” it investigates the evidence, reconstructs the record, and tells the story of how a quotation evolved — celebrating curiosity, skepticism, and scholarship while staying accessible and entertaining.

Every exhibit starts with one question: “Did they actually say that?”

Core principles

• Truth over Virality — never sacrifice accuracy for engagement.
• Evidence over Popularity — repetition across websites doesn't make a claim true.
• Preserve Uncertainty — if history is uncertain, say so. Communicate confidence honestly.
• Education over Correction — help visitors understand, never embarrass them.
• Artifacts before Content — research → artifacts → exhibits → content. Never reverse the order.

How confidence is stated

Every artifact carries an honest confidence level: High Likely Medium Low Unknown

How evidence is ranked

1. Primary — original publications, letters, speeches, official archives.
2. Scholarly — academic books, historical journals, museum and library collections.
3. Research reference — Quote Investigator, Wikiquote, institutional research.
4. General reference — only when corroborated.

Unsourced quote websites are never used as evidence.

Behind the glass

Every exhibit passes through a full pipeline — discovery, research and authentication, cataloguing, exhibition drafting, and a Museum Standards review gate — before it reaches these galleries. Each artifact carries a public provenance record documenting the evidence and sources behind it — linked from the bottom of every exhibit.

The full method — the evidence ladder, the confidence system, and how corrections work — is on display at How We Know. And if you know a quote that belongs in the collection, the acquisitions desk is open.