A journalist at the New Yorker, Jonah Lehrer, has resigned after admitting he fabricated Bob Dylan quotes in his book Imagine: How Creativity Works. The staff writer was exposed when another authority on Dylan, Michael Moynihan, pressed Lehrer for his sources in a Tablet article. Lehrer at first cited an unreleased interview with Dylan, but over a few weeks "stonewalled, misled and eventually outright lied" to Moynihan.
One of the invented quotes was a line added to Dylan's comment on his songs taken from the 1960s documentary Don't Look Back: "I don't write them. There's no great message." Lehrer then added a third sentence: "Stop asking me to explain."
Fabricating a quote ranks among the highest of journalistic sins but have you ever wished you could turn back time and speak for an influential figure? What would you have done differently? Any amendments to Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech? Think Churchill should have revised his "We will fight them on the beaches" message to the nation. Tell us the words you wish your idol had uttered.