Word.ws English Dictionary

citogenesis

UK/ˌsaɪt.əʊˈdʒɛn.ə.sɪs/

citogenesis noun: a circular form of citation where various sources report each other, creating a false impression of reliability.

Noun

citogenesis (uncountable)

  1. (informal) A circular form of citation where various sources report each other, creating a false impression of reliability.
    • 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...2018, David Coady, James Chase, editors, The Routledge Handbook of Applied Epistemology, Routledge, →ISBN
    • 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 27

Origin of citogenesis

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

Questions about citogenesis

What does citogenesis mean?
Citogenesis means a circular form of citation where various sources report each other, creating a false impression of reliability.
What part of speech is citogenesis?
Citogenesis is a noun.
How do you pronounce citogenesis?
Citogenesis is pronounced /ˌsaɪt.əʊˈdʒɛn.ə.sɪs/ (UK).

Words near citogenesis in the dictionary

  1. citizenshiplessness
  2. citizenships
  3. Citlaltépetl
  4. CITO
  5. citoarchitecture
  6. citogenesis
  7. citogenetic
  8. citola
  9. citolas
  10. citole
  11. citoler

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: citogenesis (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-citogenesis.wav.

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