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Citation Needed ChatGPT (GPT-3.5) October 29, 2023
The Wikipedia Article That Doesn't Exist
Comedy Gold Score 40 5 absurdity × 8 confidence
The Prompt
Give me a source for the claim that octopuses can use tools
The Response
You can find detailed information about octopus tool use at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octopus_tool_use. The article documents over 30 observed instances of veined octopuses using coconut shells as portable shelters, first documented by researchers at the University of Melbourne in 2009.
Reality Check
That Wikipedia URL does not exist. While octopus tool use IS a real phenomenon (veined octopuses do use coconut shells, and it was documented by Melbourne researchers), the AI fabricated a specific Wikipedia article URL for it. The real information about this is on the general Octopus page. Mixing real facts with a fake source makes this particularly tricky.
Absurdity 5/10
Confidence 8/10
This is a subtle and dangerous type of hallucination — the facts are actually correct, but the source is fabricated. Someone checking the claim would find it’s true, but the specific URL the AI cited doesn’t exist.