  As the gravitational wave detector network is upgraded and the sensitivity of
the detectors improves, novel scientific avenues open for exploration. For
example, tests of general relativity will become more accurate as smaller
deviations can be probed. Additionally, the detection of lensed gravitational
waves becomes more likely. However, these new avenues could also interact with
each other, and a gravitational wave event presenting deviations from general
relativity could be mistaken for a lensed one. Here, we explore how
phenomenological deviations from general relativity or binaries of exotic
compact objects could impact those lensing searches focusing on a single event.
We consider strong lensing, millilensing, and microlensing and find that
certain phenomenological deviations from general relativity may be mistaken for
all of these types of lensing. Therefore, our study shows that future candidate
lensing events would need to be carefully examined to avoid a false claim of
lensing where instead a deviation from general relativity has been seen.
