Factoid meaning
(usage problem) A brief, somewhat interesting fact.
noun
A single fact or statistic variously regarded as being trivial, useless, unsubstantiated, etc.
noun
An inaccurate statement or statistic believed to be true because of broad repetition, especially if cited in the media.
noun
A piece of unverified or inaccurate information that is presented in the press as factual, often as part of a publicity effort, and that is then accepted as true because of frequent repetition.
noun
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Origin of factoid
- fact + -oid; coined by Norman Mailer in Marilyn (1973): "facts which have no existence before appearing in a magazine or newspaper, creations which are not so much lies as a product to manipulate emotion in the Silent Majority".
From Wiktionary