disinformation
Americannoun
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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.
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deliberately misleading or biased information; manipulated narrative or facts; propaganda.
Special interest groups muddied the waters of the debate, spreading disinformation on social media.
noun
Usage
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.
Etymology
Origin of disinformation
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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The tips and tricks I use to avoid being taken in by sloppy A.I.-generated content are the same that have always existed for combating disinformation, and were honed mainly during my humanities degree.
From Slate • Mar. 28, 2026
“Social media has become a failed state, a place where laws are ignored and crime is endured, where disinformation is worth more than truth,” Sánchez told a conference in Dubai in February.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026
The study of disinformation is more critical than ever in the age of AI and online deception, researchers say.
From Barron's • Mar. 9, 2026
The Alan Turing Institute, a national centre for data science and AI, found "no evidence" that AI-enabled deepfakes or disinformation had a meaningful impact on the result of the general election in 2024.
From BBC • Mar. 9, 2026
He could not risk sending disinformation to Moscow—he wanted this second source as a backup to Fuchs’s material.
From "Bomb" by Steve Sheinkin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
