Fake Buddha Quotes

Someone raised a question in a Buddhist group — why are there so many fake Buddha quotes here?

To be honest, the so-called “fake Buddha quotes” do not bother me. In fact, some of these fake quotes are better than the ones which are deemed “original.” They are expressed in modern language, thus we can relate to them better. The ones who worry about “fake Buddha quotes” seem to have the idea that only the historical Buddha spoke the truth. But even whether there is a historical Buddha is questionable. The search for the historical Buddha is just as elusive as the search for the historical Jesus. For example, what exactly is the relationship between Jainism and Buddhism. And what is the relationship between Mahavira and the Gotama Buddha? In addition, as I understand it, all the Mahayana Sutras are of dubious origin with dubious authorship. They are most likely not authentic. Does it mean that there is no wisdom in the Mahayana tradition?

To me, truth is truth. It does not matter who speaks it. A rose is a rose. What you call it does not matter. In the Mahayana tradition, there is this teaching: “Follow the Dharma(the Truth), don’t follow the speaker.” The speaker is unimportant. If the speaker happens to be a bum in the street, and he speaks the truth, then the fact that he is a bum should not matter. By the same token, if someone has an elevated social position but he speaks falsehood…