disinformation

[dis-in-fer-mey-shuhn, dis-in-]

noun

1. false information, as about a country's military strength or plans, disseminated by a government or intelligence agency in a hostile act of tactical political subversion.

   Soviet disinformation drove a wedge between the United States and its Indonesian allies.

2. deliberately misleading or biased information; manipulated narrative or facts; propaganda.

   Special interest groups muddied the waters of the debate, spreading disinformation on social media.

disinformation

/ ˌdɪsɪnfəˈmeɪʃən /

noun

1. false information intended to deceive or mislead

Word History and Origins

Origin of disinformation¹

First recorded in 1965–70; dis- ¹ + information, as translation of Russian dezinformátsiya, from French désinform(er) “to misinform” + Russian -atsiya (ultimately from Latin -ātiō; -ation )

Example Sentences

Jesper Falkheimer, a professor of strategic communication at Lund University in Helsingborg, Sweden, has researched how gaming platforms can be potential tools for disinformation and manipulation, which he sees as a growing trend.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The reality, though, is starkly different, one where Trumpism is a form of religious politics where faith, emotions, culture, storytelling, disinformation, misinformation and conspiracism dominate.

Read more on Salon

In an eerie echo of today, a post-pandemic president promised to restore “real” American values while the country came to blows over racial unrest, shameless disinformation activity, crumbling labor unions, income inequality and censorship.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

He has Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the minister of plagues, spreading disinformation about health care.

Read more on Salon

As it unfolded, the medical world clashed with "Conspiracyland", with experienced doctors questioned in courtrooms by people who believe in medical disinformation.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• deceit 
• deception 
• dishonesty 
• distortion 
• evasion 
• fabrication 
• falsehood 
• fiction 
• forgery 
• inaccuracy 
• misrepresentation 
• myth 
• perjury 
• slander 
• tale 

When To Use

What's the difference between disinformation and misinformation?

Disinformation refers to false information that’s spread with the specific intent of misleading or deceiving people. Misinformation more generally refers to false information, regardless of whether or not it’s intended to mislead or deceive people.Due to their similarity, the terms are sometimes used in overlapping ways. All disinformation is misinformation, but not all misinformation is disinformation. Disinformation is the more specific of the two because it always implies that the false information is being provided or spread on purpose.Disinformation is especially used in the context of large-scale deception, such as a disinformation campaign by a government that targets the population of another country. Misinformation can be spread with the intent to trick people or just because someone incorrectly thinks it’s true.This distinction can also be seen in the difference between their verb forms, disinform and misinform. Disinform, which is much less commonly used, means to intentionally provide or spread false information. To misinform someone is to provide them with wrong information, but it doesn’t necessarily mean it was intentional.One way to remember the difference between disinformation and misinformation is to remember that disinformation is not just false but dishonest, while misinformation can be a mistake.Here’s an example of disinformation and misinformation used correctly in a sentence.Example: The intelligence report concluded that the rumors spread prior to the election were not simply the result of misinformation but rather of coordinated disinformation by a foreign power.Want to learn more? Read the full breakdown of the difference between disinformation and misinformation.