misinformation

misinformation — noun

1. information that is not true or correct, spread by people who are mistaken or wh

1.nounB2
Definition

information that is not true or correct, spread by people who are mistaken or who are trying to deceive others

Example

The government launched a campaign to fight misinformation about the new vaccine.

collocation: fight misinformation

Rachid checked several news sources before sharing the story to avoid spreading misinformation.

collocation: spread misinformation

Common collocations
  • fight misinformation
  • spread misinformation
  • combat misinformation
  • full of misinformation
  • online misinformation
Synonyms
  • disinformation

    specifically false information spread with the intention to deceive; narrower and more deliberate than misinformation

  • fake news

    informal; refers to fabricated news stories presented as real journalism, often for political or financial gain

  • propaganda

    information (often biased or misleading) spread by a political group to promote its own viewpoint; more systematic and institutional

Antonyms
  • truth

    information that is factual and accurate

  • facts

    verifiable pieces of true information; the opposite of misleading claims

Grammar Patterns

misinformation + about + topic

Usage Note

Frequently uncountable — use 'some misinformation' or 'a piece of misinformation', not 'a misinformation'. Misinformation differs from disinformation in that it can be spread without deliberate intent, whereas disinformation is always shared with the goal of deceiving.

Common Mistakes

I read a misinformation online this morning.
I read some misinformation online this morning.
misinformation is an uncountable noun and cannot follow 'a'.
The article contained many misinformation.
The article contained a lot of misinformation.
use 'a lot of' or 'much' for uncountable nouns in negative/formal contexts.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All three terms refer to false or misleading content, but they differ in intent, scope, and formality. Disinformation is the narrowest — it always implies deliberate deception by someone who knows the information is false. Fake news is the most informal label and usually describes fabricated news stories designed to look like real journalism, often going viral on social media. Propaganda refers to systematic, institutionally backed messaging (typically by a government or political group) that promotes a particular agenda, which may mix truth with bias. For example, a satirical article shared as fact is fake news; a secretly funded campaign to spread false rumours about a politician is disinformation; a government-run news outlet that only shows one side of a story is propaganda. Misinformation is the broadest umbrella — it covers all three but also includes cases where the people sharing the false information genuinely believe it is true.

disinformationfake newspropaganda ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • a piece of misinformation
  • combat misinformation
  • tackle misinformation

Prepositions

Etymology

Old EnglishLatinFrenchEnglish

Formed by adding the prefix mis- (meaning 'bad', 'wrong', or 'incorrect') to the noun information. The prefix mis- comes from Old English, while information traces back through French to the Latin verb informare ('to shape, form, or instruct'). The word has been in English use since the 1500s, originally referring to incorrect advice or teaching.