# Most statistics AI assistants quote cannot be traced to a real study

> Original title: Zombie stats: Where the numbers AI quotes come from

- Source: Hacker News · AI (150+ points)
- Published: 2026-10-29T15:06:17.000Z
- Bad Influence: https://badinfluence.news/items/b9d4zdhattxgx7zzs17c7impv
- Original: https://trakkr.ai/trakkr-research/zombie-stats

## Summary

Trakkr Research asked five AI assistants 200 questions that call for a number, then traced 1,285 cited statistics back to their sources. Only 40% reached a study saying the same thing, while 11% led nowhere at all. The report found that most cited pages repeat figures from elsewhere, and that agreement among assistants did not make a figure more reliable.