What Does This Mean?
Fandom slang for an official statement by a work's creator, usually made outside the work itself (in an interview, a post or a Q&A), about its plot, characters or backstory. Fans debate whether such a statement counts as canon or only as the creator's opinion.
REAL-WORLD EXAMPLE
""By Word of God the two characters were always siblings, but nothing in the show ever says so.""
LORE & ORIGIN
Wiktionary defines the fandom sense as the creators of a franchise and their statements outside the work about plot or characters, and cites Usenet uses from 2009, 2012 and 2013, including a 2009 post that contrasts "the Word of God" with evidence found in the text. The phrase borrows the language of scripture, which is why it implies final authority. It is a TV Tropes and fandom term; where it sits relative to canon is disputed, since some readers treat only the published text as canon. It differs from headcanon (a fan's own reading) and from fanon (community consensus).
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