When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary to make sure the sources in your book are not an Internet quotations page.
Republican presidential candidate and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee's 1998 book Kids Who Kill is full of spurious quotations from leading American political figures, mostly the country's founding fathers.
A number of the quotations, such as those from Washington and Jefferson, have been routinely debunked by libraries of the past presidents but still regularly find their way into books from conservative figures. Other quotes, debunked by prominent historians, seem to be used for the first time in the book.
The book was co-written with evangelical author George Grant in response to a mass shooting in Arkansas. The book links that shooting to the decline in America's moral culture. The quotes, from figures such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Patrick Henry, are often used to reinforce Huckabee's moral viewpoint.
Huckabee isn't the first Republican presidential to attribute fake quotes to America's founders. Ben Carson, Rand Paul, and former candidate Scott Walker have all done so.
"That book was co-authored, and I'm not sure which one wrote those, but we appreciate you reading the book," a Huckabee spokesman said.
"Thomas Jefferson asserted that the 'chief purpose of government is to protect life. Abandon that and you have abandoned all,'" writes Huckabee in one part of the book on abortion.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
However, according to the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, "this quotation has not been found in the writings of Thomas Jefferson."
Another quote attributed to Jefferson read, "Any woodsman can tell you that in a broken and sundered nest, one can hardly expect to find more than a precious few whole eggs. So it is with the family." Neither the Thomas Jefferson Foundation nor The Papers of Thomas Jefferson at Princeton University could verify the quote.
"I have searched our presidential files using woodsman, nest, and family as keywords and have not found this quote," The Papers of Thomas Jefferson wrote to BuzzFeed News in a statement.
Huckabee's cites "King's Signet Book's" in his book as the source for the quote, but a search for the source only turns up links to Huckabee's book and another book, Revolution: Jesus' Call to Change the World.
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Mike Huckabee's 1998 Book Is Full Of Fake Quotes From America's Founders