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Short answer: In common usage, misinformation is false or misleading information shared without an intention to deceive or cause harm. Disinformation is false or misleading information deliberately created or spread to deceive, manipulate or cause harm. The key difference is the sender’s knowledge and intent—not simply whether the claim is true or how much damage it eventually causes.
The difference at a glance
The same inaccurate claim can be described differently depending on what the person sharing it believed and intended. A person who repeats a false claim while honestly thinking it is accurate is usually sharing misinformation. A person who knows a claim is false, or knowingly presents misleading material to influence others, is spreading disinformation.
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| Term | What the material is | What the sharer believes | Intent | Framework note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Misinformation | False or misleading information | The sharer generally believes it is true, or has not knowingly verified it | No deliberate intent to deceive or cause harm | UNESCO describes it as false information shared inadvertently; the 2018 information-disorder framework says the person sharing believes it to be true. |
| Disinformation | False or misleading information | The creator or sharer knows it is false or misleading, or acts with that knowledge | Deliberate deception, manipulation or harm | UNESCO and CISA both emphasize intentional dissemination, although wording differs between sources. |
| Mal-information | Information based on reality | The information may be accurate | The material is used to inflict harm | UNESCO’s information-disorder framework treats this as a separate adjacent category. |
These labels are not a universally binding legal taxonomy. UNESCO notes that misinformation and disinformation are sometimes used interchangeably, and some writers use disinformation as the broader category. This article uses the practical distinction above because it makes the role of intent clear.
Why intent is the dividing line
Whether a statement is factually wrong is one question. Whether a person knowingly spread it to mislead or harm is another. The first can often be checked against documents, dates, data or other evidence. The second concerns a person’s state of mind and usually requires evidence about what that person knew and intended.
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The World Health Organization states the distinction directly: “The key difference between disinformation and misinformation is not the content of the falsehood but the knowledge and intention of the sender.” In practice, you may be able to show that a post is inaccurate without being able to prove that its author knew it was inaccurate.
A false claim shared in good faith
Suppose someone receives an old storm warning in a group chat, believes it is current and forwards it to neighbors. If the warning is no longer applicable, the post is wrong, but the example fits misinformation because the person is not knowingly trying to mislead anyone. The example is hypothetical; it illustrates the definition rather than describing a reported incident.
A false claim created to influence people
Now imagine someone knowingly alters an old image and presents it as evidence of a current event in order to influence readers. The material is still false or misleading, but the deliberate alteration and presentation make it an example of disinformation. This is also hypothetical, not an accusation about a particular person or event.
Why a wrong post is not automatically disinformation
Accuracy alone does not reveal intent. A post can be demonstrably false because it uses an outdated date, omits important context or repeats a rumor, while the sharer’s knowledge remains unknown. Calling every inaccurate post disinformation turns a careful distinction into an accusation. A more defensible description is often: “The claim is unsupported or false; the sender’s intent is unclear.”
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How major institutions define the terms
UNESCO’s introductory definitions
UNESCO’s introductory entry says, “Misinformation is false information that is shared inadvertently, without meaning to cause harm.” Its companion definition says, “Disinformation refers to the deliberate dissemination of false or misleading information, often intended to deceive or manipulate an individual or a group of people.” Together, these definitions make inadvertence versus deliberate dissemination the practical dividing line.
CISA’s 2020 public guidance
U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency guidance published in 2020 describes misinformation as false information “not created or shared with the intention of causing harm.” It describes disinformation as false information “deliberately created to mislead, harm, or manipulate” a person, group, organization or country. This wording puts the purpose of the communication—deception, manipulation or harm—at the center.
UNESCO’s 2018 information-disorder framework
The UNESCO handbook Journalism, fake news & disinformation, published in 2018, uses a three-part framework. Misinformation is false information that the person sharing believes to be true. Disinformation is false information that the person sharing knows is false. Mal-information is information based on reality but used to inflict harm. The framework is useful because it separates accidental error from knowing deception and from the weaponization of genuine information.
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Why the wording is not identical
Some definitions focus on intent to deceive; others explicitly mention intent to cause harm. Some discussions use the two terms as synonyms, while others make disinformation the umbrella term. When reading a report, policy or academic paper, check how its author defines the terms before comparing conclusions. In ordinary conversation, stating the convention you are using—unintentional sharing versus intentional deception or harm—prevents confusion.
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What you can establish—and what you cannot
Evidence that a claim is false or misleading
You can examine the original source, compare the claim with available evidence, check the date and identify whether an image, quotation or statistic is being shown outside its context. Those checks address the content itself. If the evidence does not support the claim, you can explain that limitation without making a claim about the poster’s motives.
Evidence about what a sender knew
Intent may become clearer when there is direct evidence: for example, a message acknowledging that material is fabricated, a deliberate edit presented as untouched evidence or a repeated correction followed by the same false assertion. Even then, describe the evidence precisely rather than asserting more certainty than it supports. A reader who sees only one repost usually cannot know whether the person had seen a correction or recognized the error.
Safer language when intent is uncertain
- Use false, inaccurate, misleading or unsupported when discussing the material.
- Use misinformation when the available facts indicate an unintentional mistake or a good-faith belief.
- Reserve disinformation for cases where deliberate creation or dissemination is supported by evidence.
- Say that intent is unknown when you cannot establish what the sender knew.
This approach distinguishes a fact-check of the content from a judgment about a person’s character. It also avoids treating an accidental error as proof of a coordinated or malicious campaign.
Mal-information: accurate material used to harm
Mal-information does not have to be false. In UNESCO’s framework, it is information based on reality that is used to inflict harm. The harm comes from the way accurate material is disclosed, framed or targeted, not from an invented fact.
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UNESCO gives disclosure of a person’s sexual orientation without a public-interest justification as an example. The information could be true, yet publishing it to expose or hurt the individual fits mal-information. That makes the category different from both misinformation and disinformation: the first involves an unintentional falsehood, the second a deliberate false or misleading claim, and the third a harmful use of real information.
Why “fake news” is an unreliable substitute
Fake news is not a precise synonym for every false statement online. In the UNESCO journalism handbook, the phrase is discussed as a narrower case in which false or misleading information is presented as news. A separate UNESCO module discourages the phrase because if content is fake, calling it news is itself confusing. The term is also politically loaded and can be used as a label for reporting someone simply dislikes.
Describe the material instead: a fabricated article, a false claim, an altered image, an outdated warning or a misleading presentation. If the content is deliberately presented as news to deceive, you can explain that it fits the narrower sense of disinformation discussed in the handbook. Do not use “fake news” as a blanket label for misinformation, satire, opinion or any report that turns out to be wrong.
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Checking a claim cannot reveal every sender’s motive, but it can reduce the chance that you pass along false or misleading material. CISA advises people to think before sharing and rely on trusted sources. For health questions, the World Health Organization recommends seeking current, official and evidence-based information.
- Find the original source. Follow the post, screenshot or quotation back to the earliest identifiable article, document, image or announcement. A repost may omit the surrounding explanation or alter the wording.
- Check the date. Confirm when the material was created and whether the event, warning, policy or guidance is still current. An old statement can be genuine but misleading when presented as new.
- Check the context. Read beyond the headline, inspect the full quotation and determine what the image or number originally referred to. Ask whether a crop, translation or caption changes its meaning.
- Look for supporting evidence. Identify the document, data, named authority or first-hand record on which the claim rests. If the post offers no checkable basis, treat certainty as unwarranted.
- Compare with current trusted information. Consult relevant official or evidence-based sources, especially for public-health questions. An official source is practical guidance, not a guarantee that every statement is infallible; check whether the information is current and addresses the same question.
- Pause before amplifying it. If you cannot establish the source, date, context and evidence, do not forward the claim as fact. You can ask for clarification or share a correction without repeating unnecessary details of the falsehood.
How to respond in different situations
When the claim is unverified
State what is missing: the original source, a date, supporting evidence or enough context. Ask the person who shared it where it came from. This keeps the conversation focused on checkable information rather than an unsupported accusation about motives.
When the claim is demonstrably false but intent is unclear
Point to the conflicting evidence and explain the correction. Use wording such as, “This image is from an earlier event,” or, “The current guidance does not say this.” You can identify the post as misinformation if the circumstances show an honest mistake, but do not call the person a disinformation actor merely because the post is wrong.
When deliberate deception is supported by evidence
Describe the specific conduct: a knowingly altered image, a fabricated source or a repeated false claim after a clear correction. Explain why that evidence supports the disinformation label. Keep the conclusion tied to the documented behavior; do not generalize from one proven act to every statement the person has made.
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Use current, official and evidence-based information, as WHO recommends. Avoid presenting an unverified post as medical advice, and distinguish an outdated or mistaken claim from proof that the person who shared it intended harm. If a situation is urgent, seek appropriate professional or public-health assistance rather than relying on a social-media exchange.
Common mistakes in using the labels
| Mistake | Why it fails | Better approach |
|---|---|---|
| Calling every false post disinformation | It assumes knowledge and intent that may not be established. | Separate the evidence about the claim from evidence about the sender’s state of mind. |
| Calling every misleading post misinformation | Some material is deliberately designed to deceive or harm. | Use misinformation when inadvertence or good faith is supported; reserve disinformation for deliberate conduct. |
| Treating the terms as a universal taxonomy | Institutions and authors use overlapping but different definitions. | Name the framework or state that you are using the common intent-based distinction. |
| Using “fake news” for anything disputed | The phrase is imprecise and politically loaded. | Describe the specific problem: false claim, fabricated article, altered image, missing context or outdated information. |
| Assuming an accurate disclosure is harmless | Real information can be weaponized against someone. | Consider mal-information when factual material is used to inflict harm without a public-interest justification. |
| Sharing a correction without checking it | A correction can repeat or amplify another unsupported claim. | Verify the original source, date, context and evidence before forwarding either the allegation or the rebuttal. |
One claim can receive different labels at different points
Classification can change across the chain of distribution because different people may have different knowledge. The person who invents a false story knowing it is false may be creating disinformation. A reader who encounters that story and passes it along believing it is true may be spreading misinformation, even though both actions involve the same underlying false claim. The labels describe the relationship between the material and the particular sender’s knowledge and intent.
That is why a responsible assessment identifies who created the material, who shared it, what each person could reasonably have known and what evidence supports an intention to deceive or harm. Without those details, the safest conclusion may be limited to the accuracy and context of the claim itself.
Bottom line for readers
Misinformation is generally an unintentional falsehood; disinformation is a false or misleading claim deliberately used to deceive, manipulate or cause harm. Mal-information is a separate case in which real information is weaponized. Because intent is often hidden, verify the source, date, context and evidence before sharing, and describe what you can prove without turning an inaccurate post into an unsupported accusation.
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