disinformationn.
a. The dissemination of deliberately false information, esp. when supplied by a government or its agent to a foreign power or to the media, with the intention of influencing the policies or opinions of those who receive it; false information so supplied. Cf. black propaganda n. at black adj. and n. Compounds 1e(a).
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > information > action of informing > [noun] > dissemination of deliberately false information
black propaganda1856
disinformation1955
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > disregard for truth, falsehood > false assertion > [noun] > deliberate falsification
cookery1611
non-information1930
disinformation1955
1955 Times 3 June 6/1 The elimination of every form of propaganda and disinformation, as well as of other forms of conduct which create distrust or in any other way impede the establishment of an atmosphere conducive to constructive international cooperation and to the peaceful coexistence of nations.
1967 Observer 10 Dec. 4/4 This works hand in hand with ‘disinformation’, designed to make people believe that Soviet society and Soviet policies are not what they are.
1971 Courier-Mail (Brisbane) 9 Aug. 4/10 A former Czechoslovak spy and Government official has given a Senate panel a glimpse into ‘black propaganda’—the art of disinformation.
1975 New Republic 30 June 8/1 One technique of the Central Intelligence Agency..is dis-information...The Agency has expensive facilities for producing fake documents and other means for misleading foreigners.
1977 ‘J. le Carré’ Honourable Schoolboy i. 35 Only those at the inmost point saw things differently. To them, old Craw's article was a discreet masterpiece of disinformation.
1984 Daily Tel. 9 Oct. 9/2 It is Sir James' position that..the Soviets made a conscious decision to seek to discredit the West German politician..and mounted a campaign of defamation, disinformation and provocation against him.
b. attributive.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > information > action of informing > [adjective] > relating to deliberately false information
disinformation1967
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > disregard for truth, falsehood > false assertion > [adjective] > of the nature of disinformation
disinformation1967
1967 Sunday Mail Mag. (Brisbane) 26 Nov. 3/4 The CIA claims the disinformation department [of the KGB] was established in 1959.
1975 Economist 9 Aug. 36/2 Alternatively, the episode could be a ‘disinformation’ exercise, designed to draw attention to the methods of Chile's security services.
1977 Washington Post 6 Mar. a14/4 The US embassy said today that it was ‘a classical disinformation piece laced with slander and innuendo and as such unworthy of further comment at this time’.
1979 Daily Tel. 23 July 5/4 Disinformation campaigns to deceive Western opinion.
1983 Listener 1 Sept. 24/1 He surveyed the range of surveillance and disinformation technology which modern technology has placed in the hands of governments.
Derivatives
disinˈform v. [as a back-formation] (transitive) to supply with false information.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > information > action of informing > give (information) [verb (transitive)] > inform (a person) > supply with false information
disinform1978
1978 Guardian Weekly 30 July 13 Advocates of the change say..that foreign intelligence services today are increasingly using so-called influencing agents for subverting, deceiving and disinforming French public opinion.
1980 de Borchgrave & Moss The Spike 85 He had proved a willing collaborator in their efforts to disinform the American press.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1972; most recently modified version published online December 2020).
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n.1955