The difference between disinformation and misinformation, and how to do your own analysis [Video]

This article is part of a Globe initiative to cover disinformation and misinformation. E-mail us to share tips or feedback at [email protected].

Have you ever shared something online before checking to see if it was correct? Maybe you did so because it made you angry, or because it was so outrageous you felt as though you had to respond. This is something we’ve probably all done, with no harm intended. But it’s a doorway into the murky realm of disinformation.

Disinformation and misinformation are terms often used interchangeably. The key difference between them is intent.

Disinformation is made with the intent to deceive and spread something false.

Misinformation is the unwitting sharing of something misleading.

These are not new concerns. Author and satirist Jonathan Swift wrote in 1710 that “Falsehood flies, and the Truth comes limping after it.” In 1835, the New York Sun published fantastical articlesabout life on the moon. …