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<aside> <img src="/icons/info-alternate_blue.svg" alt="/icons/info-alternate_blue.svg" width="40px" /> What’s the difference between mis-, dis-, and malinformation?
MDM, as we will abbreviate it, can seem confusing at first. When assessing which term best fits, ask if something is true, whether it is politically motivated, and if there is harm or deceptive intent.
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Information shared with the intent to mislead is disinformation. Disinformation is often used as a catch-all term for all false information, but we distinguish it from misinformation by the intent to deceive.
False or misleading information spread by someone who believes false information to be true is misinformation. The impact of disinformation and misinformation may be the same. Whether false or misleading information is shared intentionally determines which of these two terms it is.
The deliberate publication of private information for personal or private interest and the deliberate manipulation of genuine content. This is often done by moving private information or revealing information about an individual, taken out of context, into the public sphere.
Misinformation, disinformation, and malinformation, abbreviated as MDM, can initially seem confusing. Disinformation is often used as a catch-all term for all false information, but we distinguish it from misinformation by the intent to deceive. Malinformation is true or information not on the true-false spectrum.
To make the assessment easier, consider three things about a claim: how factually accurate it is, whether it's politically or selfishly motivated, and whether the person making a claim knows it's misleading or false.