Factoid

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈfæk.tɔɪd/

Definitions

1. A short, often trivial or interesting piece of information or trivia ; a piece of information that is inaccurately reported or misleading but appears factual
2. A concise detail that may be minor or amusing ; an item of supposed fact that is actually incorrect or deceptive
3. A small or trivial data point typically presented as true ; a spurious or false statement often mistaken for a genuine fact

Etymology: Norman Mailer coined "factoid" in 1973, in his biography "Marilyn", and he meant it as an insult. For him, a factoid was a fact that had no existence until it appeared in a magazine or newspaper: something that looked like information but was really a product designed to manipulate readers. He saw such items as closer to lies than to true reports. The word is built from "fact" and the suffix "-oid", which means "similar to, but not the same as", as in "android" (similar to a human) or "asteroid" (star-like). A factoid is therefore something that resembles a fact without fully being one. Over time the word lost much of Mailer's disapproval. Today it usually describes a small, interesting piece of information, and many people use it without knowing that its first meaning was a criticism of the press.

Synonyms: trivia, fact, tidbit, piece of information, nugget