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I recall a quote of the sort "Facts are the enemy of truth" attributed to Miguel de Cervantes in his book Don Quijote de la Mancha. However, I could not find the quote in the book by searching for "truth" or "enemy". There are also some sources on the web claiming the quote, such as here, here, or here.

Is there an actual passage in the book which conveys the meaning of the above quote? Or is this a total misattribution?

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As the OP noted, this quote does not appear in Don Quijote de la Mancha by Cervantes. It does, however, appear in a different version of Quijote: the musical based on Cervantes' work, with libretto by Dale Wassermann entitled The Man of La Mancha. When the Don is being questioned by Dr Carrasco the following dialogue occurs:

Dr Carrasco: There are no giants. No kings under enchantment. No chivalry, No knights. There have been no knights for three hundred years.

Don Quixote: So learned - yet so misinformed.

Dr Carrasco: These are facts.

Don Quixote: Facts are the enemy of truth.

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  • 3
    How prescient -- he anticipated Colbert's "truthiness" and Conway's "alternative facts".
    – Barmar
    Commented Jun 13, 2023 at 14:37
  • 4
    @Barmar or... "truthiness" is a lot older than we think they are.
    – RonJohn
    Commented Jun 14, 2023 at 14:23

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