What This Looks Like
The answer includes a citation, link, document reference, file pointer, or source label, but following it does not support the claim being made. The cited source may be unrelated, too broad, from the wrong document, attached to the wrong sentence, or pointed at a passage that says something different.
Why It Matters
A bad citation can be more damaging than no citation because it creates a false appearance of verification. Users may trust the answer, pass it forward, or rely on it in a workflow because the output appears sourced. Reviewers then have to separate the claim from the reference and determine whether either one is usable.
Structural Signal
The output has a reference object, but the reference does not match the claim, passage, document, or evidence requirement it is supposed to support. The failure is in the link between answer and source, not simply in the answer text.
Common Triggers
- Source references are attached after generation instead of preserved during reasoning
- Retrieval returns a relevant document but not the supporting passage
- The answer merges claims from several sources and assigns the wrong citation
- A citation format is required but source-to-claim alignment is not checked
- The system treats document-level relevance as enough for passage-level support
- A source link survives from an earlier answer after the content changes
When to Use This Issue
Use this Issue when a source pointer exists but does not support the specific claim, sentence, field, recommendation, or evidence requirement it is attached to.
When Not to Use This Issue
Do not use this Issue when the answer has no source at all. Use the missing-trace Issue instead. Do not use it when the citation is valid but the user disagrees with the source’s credibility, freshness, or interpretation.