disinformation

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.

Should disinformation or misinformation be used in the following sentence?

The government spread _____ about the location of their army in hopes of tricking the enemy.