Technically True But Misleading Statement — 'Questionable Material' Language
P · Principle
Individual
http://proethica.org/ontology/case/149#Technically_True_But_Misleading_Statement_—_Questionable_Material_Language
Properties
Instance of
TechnicallyTrueButMisleadingStatementProhibition
http://proethica.org/ontology/intermediate#TechnicallyTrueButMisleadingStatementProhibition
Applied to
Client notification language regarding drum contents
Balancing with
Client Loyalty
Honesty
Concrete expression
Engineer B's use of 'questionable material' to describe what the engineer's professional assessment indicated was likely hazardous waste constitutes a technically non-false but materially misleading characterization — designed to minimize client alarm and preserve the business relationship while obscuring the true nature of the discovered material and the legal obligations it triggers.
Confidence
0.91
Importance
high
Interpretation
The term 'questionable material' is not technically false, but it creates a materially false impression by understating the likely hazardous nature of the material and concealing the legal framework that applies to it — violating the prohibition on technically true but misleading statements.
Invoked by
Engineer B Hazardous Waste Supervisor
Tension resolution
The prohibition applies regardless of the engineer's motive; the overall impression conveyed by 'questionable material' falls far short of the honest characterization required.
Source Evidence
Source text
Engineer B informs the client of the presence of drums containing 'questionable material' and suggests that they be removed.
Text references
Based on Technician A's past experience, it is his opinion that analysis of the sample would most likely determine that the drum contents would be classified as hazardous waste.
Engineer B informs the client of the presence of drums containing 'questionable material' and suggests that they be removed.
TTL
@prefix owl: <http://www.w3.org/2002/07/owl#> .
@prefix proeth: <http://proethica.org/ontology/intermediate#> .
@prefix prov: <http://www.w3.org/ns/prov#> .
@prefix rdfs: <http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#> .
@prefix xsd: <http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#> .
<http://proethica.org/ontology/case/149#Technically_True_But_Misleading_Statement_—_Questionable_Material_Language> a proeth:TechnicallyTrueButMisleadingStatementProhibition,
owl:NamedIndividual ;
rdfs:label "Technically True But Misleading Statement — 'Questionable Material' Language" ;
proeth:appliedto "Client notification language regarding drum contents" ;
proeth:balancingwith "Client Loyalty",
"Honesty" ;
proeth:conceptCategory "Principle" ;
proeth:concreteexpression "Engineer B's use of 'questionable material' to describe what the engineer's professional assessment indicated was likely hazardous waste constitutes a technically non-false but materially misleading characterization — designed to minimize client alarm and preserve the business relationship while obscuring the true nature of the discovered material and the legal obligations it triggers." ;
proeth:confidence "0.91" ;
proeth:discoveredincase "149" ;
proeth:discoveredinpass "2" ;
proeth:discoveredinsection "facts" ;
proeth:firstdiscoveredat "2026-03-01T12:17:34.345863+00:00" ;
proeth:firstdiscoveredincase "149" ;
proeth:generatedattime "2026-03-01T12:17:34.345863+00:00" ;
proeth:importance "high" ;
proeth:interpretation "The term 'questionable material' is not technically false, but it creates a materially false impression by understating the likely hazardous nature of the material and concealing the legal framework that applies to it — violating the prohibition on technically true but misleading statements." ;
proeth:invokedby "Engineer B Hazardous Waste Supervisor" ;
proeth:principleclass "Technically True But Misleading Statement Prohibition" ;
proeth:sourcetext "Engineer B informs the client of the presence of drums containing 'questionable material' and suggests that they be removed." ;
proeth:tensionresolution "The prohibition applies regardless of the engineer's motive; the overall impression conveyed by 'questionable material' falls far short of the honest characterization required." ;
proeth:textreferences "Based on Technician A's past experience, it is his opinion that analysis of the sample would most likely determine that the drum contents would be classified as hazardous waste.",
"Engineer B informs the client of the presence of drums containing 'questionable material' and suggests that they be removed." ;
proeth:wasattributedto "Case 149 Extraction" ;
prov:generatedAtTime "2026-03-01T12:35:30.887268"^^xsd:dateTime ;
prov:wasGeneratedBy "ProEthica Case 149 Extraction" .
Metadata
Extraction details
Discovered in case
149
Discovered in pass
2
Discovered in section
facts
First discovered
2026-03-01T12:17:34.345863+00:00
First case
149
Generated
2026-03-01T12:17:34.345863+00:00
Attributed to
Case 149 Extraction
Generated
2026-03-01T12:35:30.887268
Generated by
ProEthica Case 149 Extraction