1. the act of incorrectly assigning something to the wrong source, cause, or origin

Examples

• The misattribution of the quote to Einstein spread rapidly on social media.
• Art historians discovered the misattribution of the painting to Van Gogh.
• The researcher’s misattribution of the data led to flawed conclusions.
• Misattribution of symptoms to the wrong cause delayed proper treatment.
• The biography contained several misattributions of famous sayings.
• Memory researchers study how misattribution affects eyewitness testimony.