disinformation
- 01 C1 Advanced
n.false information that someone spreads on purpose to trick people or hide the truth.
n.false information intentionally disseminated to deliberately confuse, mislead, or manipulate public opinion.
Simple“The government warned that foreign agents were spreading disinformation to influence the election.”
In context“The intelligence agency identified a coordinated campaign of disinformation designed to undermine public trust in the healthcare system during the crisis.”
UsageUncountable noun; typically used without an article or in the phrase 'a campaign of disinformation'.
PitfallThe article was full of disinformations. The article was full of disinformation.In English, 'disinformation' is an uncountable noun and does not have a plural form.
Synonyms - 02 C2 Proficiency
v.to spread lies or false stories on purpose to trick a group of people.
v.to engage in the act of disseminating false or misleading information for strategic or political gain.
Simple“The group tried to disinformation the public by posting fake photos online.”
In context“State actors continue to disinformation domestic populations through highly sophisticated social media bot networks.”
UsageTransitive verb; less common than the noun form and often replaced by 'spread disinformation'.
“Moroccan authorities on Wednesday announced measures to counter a new influx of migrants to the Spanish territory of Ceuta, after monitoring a new wave of online disinformation.”
“The United Nations launched new Global Principles for Information Integrity on Monday, emphasizing the need for immediate action to address the harms caused by misinformation, disinformation and hate speech.”
Composed of dis- + information. Attested in the sense “intentional misinformation” in English from 1939. A different usage of disinformation occurred earlier, as early as 1887, as a simple synonym of misinformation.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.