Mis- or Disinformation?

People often use the terms misinformation and disinformation interchangeably, but there is an important difference between them.

Misinformation is false or misleading information shared by someone who believes it is true. A person repeating an inaccurate statistic, misunderstanding a study, or sharing a misleading meme may be spreading misinformation without intending to deceive anyone.

Disinformation is false or misleading information shared by someone who knows it is false—or who shows reckless disregard for whether it is true—with the goal of making other people believe it anyway.

The difference matters because the response may be different. Someone spreading misinformation may respond to evidence, clarification, or correction. Disinformation is harder to address because accuracy is not the priority. The falsehood itself is often the point.

Not every false claim is disinformation. But when individuals or organizations continue repeating claims that have already been publicly corrected, it becomes reasonable to question whether the misinformation is still accidental.