Meanings
- informaluncountableA circular form of citation where various sources report each other, creating a false impression of reliability.
It was at this time that the first cases of “citogenesis”—circular and false reporting originating from Wikipedia—appeared.
2020, Joseph Reagle, Jackie Koerner, editors, Wikipedia @ 20: Stories of an Incomplete Revolution, MIT Press, →ISBN, page 271 more example
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.
2018, David Coady, James Chase, editors, The Routledge Handbook of Applied Epistemology, Routledge, →ISBN
Origin
From cite + -o- + -genesis, probably inspired by cytogenesis. Coined by American cartoonist, author and engineer Randall Munroe in 2011 in his webcomic xkcd.
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Sounds the same
Anagrams
Cite this entry
citogenesis. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/citogenesis
“citogenesis.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/citogenesis. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “citogenesis,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/citogenesis.
Source: citogenesis on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.