citogenesis

English[edit]

From cite +‎ -o- +‎ -genesis, probably inspired by cytogenesis. Coined by American cartoonist, author and engineer Randall Munroe in 2011 in his webcomic xkcd.^[1]

citogenesis (uncountable)

(informal, Wikimedia jargon) A circular form of citation where various sources report each other.
- 2018, David Coady, James Chase, editors, The Routledge Handbook of Applied Epistemology‎^[1], Routledge, →ISBN:
  Relatedly, Wikipedia has been a locus of ‘citogenesis’: “the creation of ‘reliable’ sources through circular reporting” […] In citogenesis, information is added to Wikipedia, which is then picked up in media reports, which are in turn used as ‘independent’ sources to support the original information in Wikipedia.
- 2020, Joseph Reagle, Jackie Koerner, editors, Wikipedia @ 20: Stories of an Incomplete Revolution, MIT Press, →ISBN, page 27:
  It was at this time that the first cases of “citogenesis”—circular and false reporting originating from Wikipedia—appeared.