misinformation

[mis-in-fer-mey-shuhn]

noun

1. false information that is spread, regardless of whether there is intent to mislead.

   In the chaotic hours after the earthquake, a lot of misinformation was reported in the news.

Word History and Origins

Origin of misinformation¹

First recorded in 1580–90; mis- ¹ ( def. ) + information ( def. )

Example Sentences

Kenvue called the lawsuit’s claims baseless and said it was concerned about the spread of misinformation.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Kenvue said in a statement that it was "deeply concerned by the perpetuation of misinformation on the safety of acetaminophen and the potential impact that could have on the health of American women and children".

Read more on BBC

“These events have been erroneously linked to the traditional private credit market as a result of misunderstandings and misinformation,” he said.

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Even with increasing protections for celebrity likenesses, critics warn that the casual “likeness appropriation” of any common person or situation could lead to public confusion, enhance misinformation and erode public trust.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

That remains unclear because of confusion and misinformation surrounding the rollout of a host of new fees or fee increases for a variety of immigration services.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• falsity 
• misreport 
• misstatement www.thesaurus.com

When To Use

What's the difference between misinformation and disinformation?

Misinformation refers to false information, regardless of whether or not it’s intended to mislead or deceive people. Disinformation, in contrast, refers to false information that’s spread with the specific intent of misleading or deceiving 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, misinform and disinform. To misinform someone is to provide them with wrong information, but it doesn’t necessarily mean it was intentional. Disinform, which is much less commonly used, means to intentionally provide or spread false information.One way to remember the difference between misinformation and disinformation is to remember that misinformation can be a mistake, while disinformation is not just false but dishonest.Here’s an example of misinformation and disinformation 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 misinformation and disinformation.