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Definition

Phantom citation

A phantom citation is a displayed or implied citation to a source that does not exist, no longer exists, or does not support the claim.

CollectionDefinition
TypeDefinition
Version1.0
Stabilization2026-05-13
Published2026-05-13
Updated2026-05-13

Phantom citation

A phantom citation is a displayed or implied citation to a source that does not exist, no longer exists, is inaccessible, has been reconstructed incorrectly, or does not support the attached claim.

A phantom citation should be logged with the answer, system, date, prompt, cited URL, live status and claim being supported. The goal is to distinguish broken access, stale memory, URL reconstruction and citation-output gap.