Hallucinated source

What it means

A hallucinated source is a citation, quote, link, person, policy, or fact that sounds real but was generated incorrectly.

Example

An AI answer lists a consumer protection rule that does not exist or cites a fake article title.

Warning signs

• The source cannot be found.
• The link does not support the claim.
• The quote appears nowhere else.
• The answer sounds confident but lacks verifiable details.

Safer next steps

• Open and check sources directly.
• Verify important claims with official or trusted references.
• Do not make financial, legal, medical, or security decisions from unverified AI output.
• Ask for sources and then confirm them yourself.