On the surface , disinformation and misinformation have a stack in vernacular : They ’re both types of sham selective information . In fact , misinformation can sometimes be disinformation , and disinformation can give direction to misinformation . But despite their law of similarity , the twotermsaren’t exactly standardized .
Misinformation vs. Disinformation
As Dictionary.comexplains , misinformation is wrong info relay “ regardless of intent to misinform . ” In other words , the person transmitting the intel is n’t of necessity trying to make anyone think something erroneous ; in many cases , they do n’t even get it on it ’s erroneous in the first place .
Say , for instance , you tell your uncle that you ’re maneuver on a spelunking adventure in a bat - heavy area . He tells you to wear a chapeau at all times , considering squash racket ’ taste for getting tangled in people ’s tomentum . If your uncle actually believe thatbatstarget hair ( they do n’t ) , he ’s spreading misinformation — it ’s untrue , certain , but he ’s not purposely trying to inseminate untruths .
But maybe your uncle had a harrowing coming upon with a bat colony as a kid . He ’s reverence and hated them ever since , and he ’s keen on making everyone else fear and hate them , too . To further his mission , he ’s forever present slanderousmisconceptions about batsasfacts . That ’s not just misinformation — it’sdisinformation , which the Oxford English Dictionary defines as “ the dissemination of by choice pretended entropy , { especially } when supply by a regime or its agentive role to a foreign power or to the media , with the intention of influencing the policies or opinions of those who invite it . ” Disinformation can be as magnanimous as an external propaganda campaign or as small as one man ’s effort to turn the world against Stellaluna and company .
So your uncle maliciously note that bats make love to claw at hair , you believe him , and then you evidence everyone on your spelunking trip that drub love to claw at hair’s-breadth . As you ’re not divvy up the assumed choice morsel out of any ominous design , it ’s back to being patently old misinformation .
How to Know Which Term to Use
Misinformationis a much sure-enough terminal figure , first showing up in print during the 16th century . The earliest known write instance ofdisinformation , by demarcation , is from 1955 — possibly derive from the Russian Logos dezinformátsiya . Unsurprisingly , disinformationappeared a lot in reference to all the espionage and propaganda that fall out on both side of theCold War .
Here ’s a handy mnemonic machine to aid you keep the two straight : Misinformation is often amistake , whiledisinformation is intentionallydishonest .
Discover the Differences Between Other Commonly Confused Words :
A variant of this story scat in 2021 ; it has been update for 2025 .
