Close
  • Podcasts
    • Grammar Girl
    • Curious State
    • Get-Fit Guy
    • Money Girl
    • Project Parenthood
    • Relationship Doctor
    • Modern Mentor
    • Nutrition Diva
    • Savvy Psychologist
    • Who Knew?
    • Unknown History
    • Ask Science
  • Books
  • Categories
    • Health & Fitness
    • House & Home
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
    • Pets
    • Education
    • Tech
    • Productivity
    • Business & Career
    • Money & Finance
  • Offers
  • About QDT
What's Hot

Jessie Stephens takes us to the Beginning of the End

August 9, 2022

Why Don’t People say ‘You’re Welcome’ Anymore?

August 8, 2022

How Does a DUI Affect My Auto Insurance?

August 8, 2022
Facebook Twitter Instagram
Quick and Dirty Tips ™
  • Podcasts
    • Grammar Girl
    • Curious State
    • Get-Fit Guy
    • Money Girl
    • Project Parenthood
    • Relationship Doctor
    • Modern Mentor
    • Nutrition Diva
    • Savvy Psychologist
    • Who Knew?
    • Unknown History
    • Ask Science
  • Books
  • Categories
    • Health & Fitness
    • House & Home
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
    • Pets
    • Education
    • Tech
    • Productivity
    • Business & Career
    • Money & Finance
  • Offers
  • About QDT
Facebook Twitter Instagram Pinterest
Quick and Dirty Tips ™
You are at:Home » The Difference Between ‘Disinformation’ and ‘Misinformation’
Grammar Girl

The Difference Between ‘Disinformation’ and ‘Misinformation’

Misinformation is false information that’s given without malice, and disinformation is false information, such as government propaganda, that’s given with the intention to deceive. 

By Mignon FogartyMarch 29, 2018No Comments3 Mins Read
Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
 Apple Podcast Page  Spotify Podcast Page  Google Podcast Page  Sticher Podcast Page
Share
Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Email

 

The “mis-“ prefix and the “dis-“ prefix can both negate things in a lot of ways, and they have taken on different meanings in “misinformation” and “disinformation.”

‘Misinformation’

The "mis-" prefix can mean “wrong,” “mistaken,” “badly,” or just negate the meaning that follows. Misinformation is information that is incorrect, but the word is meant to carry a connotation that the bad advice was given without malice. Here’s an example from the novel “Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell":

“Besides,” said Mr Norrell, “I really have no desire to write reviews of other people's books. Modern publications upon magic are the most pernicious things in the world, full of misinformation and wrong opinions.”

And another example in advice from the Irish writer William Trevor:

“I have never believed in the axiom that a writer should first and foremost write about what he knows. I think it’s a piece of misinformation.” 

Another example of a word that uses the “mis-” prefix to describe an unintentional error is "misspeak."

‘Disinformation’

I was surprised to learn that "disinformation" came to English from the Russian word "dezinformatsiya" and refers to false information that is deliberately intended to mislead, especially when it is distributed to other countries.

Here’s an example from Ben Goldacre’s book “Bad Science”:

"Carrots were the source of one of the great disinformation coups of World War II.”

Yes, carrots. And this story sounded too good to be true, but I looked it up and “Smithsonian Magazine” and Snopes both have it too. Apparently, the British Royal Air Force was using a new type of radar in 1939, but they wanted to keep it secret, and the Germans were noticing that British pilots were suddenly really good at detecting their planes in the dark as they tried to cross the English Channel. 

To try to throw off the Germans, the British started releasing stories about how they were feeding their pilots so many carrots that it was improving their night vision.

Nobody knows whether the Germans believed the carrot stories, but historians do seem to think that the disinformation campaign contributed to the idea in both the British and German public consciousness that carrots are good for your eyesight, and there is evidence that some British people started eating carrots because they thought it would help them see during the blackouts. But this was just a side effect of the disinformation; carrots are good for your eyes, but eating carrots doesn’t actually improve your vision—day or night.

The “dis-“ prefix can have many negative or reversing meanings including “apart” and “away,” but the Oxford English Dictionary puts “disinformation” in the same category as the words “disease” and “dishonor,” for which the prefix gives a sense of the opposite of something or the lack or absence of something: the opposite of ease, the opposite of honor, and “disinformation” as the opposite of true information.

That’s your Quick and Dirty Tip: Misinformation is false information that’s given without malice, and disinformation is false information, such as government propaganda, that’s meant to deceive people.

Mignon Fogarty is Grammar Girl and the founder of Quick and Dirty Tips. Check out her New York Times best-seller, “Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing.”

Mignon Fogarty
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn

Mignon Fogarty is the founder of Quick and Dirty Tips and the author of seven books on language, including the New York Times bestseller "Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing." She is an inductee in the Podcasting Hall of Fame, and the show is a five-time winner of Best Education Podcast in the Podcast Awards. She has appeared as a guest expert on the Oprah Winfrey Show and the Today Show. Her popular LinkedIn Learning courses help people write better to communicate better.

Add A Comment

Comments are closed.

Don't Miss

Jessie Stephens takes us to the Beginning of the End

By Editor, Relationship DoctorAugust 9, 2022

Heartsick, the debut book from author and podcaster Jessie Stephens, follows three stories of heartbreak—the…

Why Don’t People say ‘You’re Welcome’ Anymore?

August 8, 2022

How Does a DUI Affect My Auto Insurance?

August 8, 2022

How To Keep Costs Down In 2022

August 8, 2022
Stay In Touch
  • Facebook 12K
  • Twitter 25.7K
  • Pinterest 18.5K
  • Instagram 123K
  • YouTube 23K
  • Vimeo 11.2K
Our Picks

Jessie Stephens takes us to the Beginning of the End

By Editor, Relationship DoctorAugust 9, 2022

Why Don’t People say ‘You’re Welcome’ Anymore?

By Valerie Fridland, Writing forAugust 8, 2022

How Does a DUI Affect My Auto Insurance?

By Laura Adams, MBAAugust 8, 2022
Demo

Subscribe

 Apple Podcast Page  Spotify Podcast Page  Google Podcast Page  Sticher Podcast Page

Books

Amazon.comBarnesIndiBOundApple iBookstoreIndiBOund
Amazon.comBarnesIndiBOundApple iBookstore

Don't miss

Never miss another tip! Join our list to get updates from your favorite hosts delivered straight to your inbox
Sign Up
ABOUT US
logo-img

Whether you want to manage your money better, rock your professional life, stay fit and eat healthy, or discover the keys to better mental health, Quick and Dirty Tips delivers short-form podcasts and articles every week to keep you at the top of your game, usually in ten minutes or less!

Email: contact@quickanddirtytips.com

QUICK LINKS
  • Health & Fitness
  • House & Home
  • Parenting
  • Relationships
  • Pets
  • Education
  • Tech
  • Productivity
  • Business & Career
  • Money & Finance
  • How to listen
  • Privacy notice
  • Ads & Cookies
  • Terms of Use
  • About QDT
  • Our Hosts
OUR PICKS

Jessie Stephens takes us to the Beginning of the End

August 9, 2022

Why Don’t People say ‘You’re Welcome’ Anymore?

August 8, 2022

How Does a DUI Affect My Auto Insurance?

August 8, 2022
Facebook Twitter Instagram
Copyright © 2022 Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC. Quick & Dirty Tips™ and related trademarks appearing on this website are the property of Mignon Fogarty, Inc. and Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC.

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.