False prophet

In religion, a false prophet is a person who falsely claims the gift of prophecy or divine inspiration, or to speak for God, or who makes such claims for evil ends. Often, someone who is considered a "true prophet" by some people is simultaneously considered a "false prophet" by others, even within the same religion as that espoused by the "prophet" in question. In a wider sense, a false prophet is anyone who, without having it, claims a special connection to a deity and sets him or herself up as a source of spirituality, as an authority, preacher, or teacher. Analogously, the term sometimes occurs outside the context of religion to characterise someone who fervently promotes a theory that the speaker thinks is false.