Meanings
- An epigram or bon mot: "Everything you read in the newspapers is absolutely true except for that rare story of which you happen to have firsthand knowledge."
"I can personally attest," Mr. Smith said, "to the accuracy of what is called Knoll's Law of Media Accuracy: 'Everything you read in the newspapers is absolutely true except for the rare story of which you happen to have firsthand knowledge.'"
1982 January 25, Stuart Taylor Jr., quoting William French Smith, “Bar Urged to Join Fight on Politics in the Courts”, in The New York Times, volume CXXXI, number 45205, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, published 26 January 1982, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 24 May 2015, page B8
Origin
Coined by Attorney General of the United States William French Smith in 1982 (see quotation below), named after American journalist Erwin Knoll.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
Knoll's Law of Media Accuracy. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Knoll's%20Law%20of%20Media%20Accuracy
“Knoll's Law of Media Accuracy.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Knoll's%20Law%20of%20Media%20Accuracy. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Knoll's Law of Media Accuracy,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Knoll's%20Law%20of%20Media%20Accuracy.
Source: Knoll's Law of Media Accuracy on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.