In this age of information overload, we are seeing the spread of two forms of wrong information: misinformation and disinformation. These two words, so often used interchangeably, are merely one letter apart. But behind that one letter hides the critical distinction between these confusable words: intent.

Misinformation is “false information that is spread, regardless of intent to mislead.” Put a flag in the second half of this definition.

Disinformation means “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.” It is also used more generally to mean “deliberately misleading or biased information; manipulated narrative or facts; propaganda.”

When distinguishing between misinformation and disinformation, keep one very important word in mind: intent. Although both words refer to types of wrong or false information, only disinformation is wrong on purpose. While this distinction may seem simple remember they mean similar but very different things and should not get used interchangeably.

Read the complete article about these words at: https://www.dictionary.com/e/misinformation-vs-disinformation-get-informed-on-the-difference/