making a mistake.

I don't intend this as a personal criticism, more of a whinge about the world in general. But this sort of thing isn't a mistake, and it bugs me when that language is used to describe it.

You could argue "I made a mistake" when you choose the wrong course of action when presented with a tricky dilemma. Or when you're misled by someone, or misread the circumstances.

But even associating with Epstein after the truth about him became known isn't a mistake.