Disinformation and Misinformation
I came across a very fine example of how precise language can be.
Disinformation is the act of conciously fabricate and spread false statements or claims not backed by evidences or facts. This implies bad intentions and the will to cause harm.
Misinformatinon is what we do when we bite the bait of such pieces and begin spreading them to our circles of acquaintances, friends and relatives, probably unaware of the fact that the story is absolutely fake, and with the best of the intentions.
For example, the fact of doctoring a picture to misrepresent a situation, or completely fabricate it, is disinformation. Likewise, placing an old or unrelated picture in an article not backed by any evicences or facts, in order to mislead, is disinformation.
If we, not being the authors, came across such pieces and we believe them, and we shared them, that would be misinformation. We can be doing that in good faith, because we were victims of the disinformation in the first place, but in the moment we share it, we are misinforming others.
Posted under: fake news