The terms “misinformation” and “disinformation” have become increasingly common in our political lexicon in recent years- you’ve probably heard politicians talking about someone who “spreads misinformation” and the existential need to “combat disinformation.”
Despite now being commonplace, these terms are relatively new and thus confusion abounds regarding their definition and usage. So, what do these terms mean and where did they come from?
Dictionary.com dubbed “misinformation” the word of the year in 2018 and defines it as “false information that is spread, regardless of whether there is intent to mislead.”
“Disinformation” was ironically chosen as the word of the year in 2019 by NPR’s Geoff Nunbger, but it has a much longer history associated with it than “misinformation.” The term stems from the Russian phrase “dezinformatsiya,” which was the name of the branch of the KGB that was tasked with influencing public opinion. Disinformation differs from misinformation in that it’s false information that is deliberately spread, rather than an erroneous fact that gained traction inadvertently.
Someone who misreads the daily weather report might post on Facebook that a storm is coming in, despite the fact that it will rain tomorrow, and not today. This would be an example of someone spreading misinformation- they are spreading something false by accident. A politician who knows that crime is increasing in their district might lie and claim that it’s actually down- this would be disinformation, since the politician is purposefully deceiving the public to push a political agenda.
Though their definitions are quite different, the application of these terms is relatively similar. The federal government has weaponized them to dictate what’s true and what’s not, to control the dissemination of information and influence public opinion.
The federal government attempting to control what’s true and what isn’t is existentially threatening- controlling information is the first step to totalitarianism. The usage of these words is a sly form of censorship; many social media companies restrict content upon the grounds that it’s spreading either misinformation or disinformation. The public must be made aware that their usage represents not a desire to help the American people, but to control them.
The First Amendment’s assertion of freedom of speech places an inherent trust within the people. There will always be disagreements regarding the truth of certain statements, but administrations that truly understand free speech allow the marketplace of ideas to eradicate falsehoods. The axioms of logic and reason allow the people to think things through and come to their own conclusions- the government shouldn’t have a say in that process by asserting that undesirable narratives are “misinformation.”
One can only hope that the American public will notice how dangerous this rhetoric is and respond accordingly by consuming information through a critical lens.
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