Disinformation

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Disinformation is false or inaccurate information that is spread on purpose and is intended to mislead. It may include the handing out of forged documents, manuscripts, and photographs, or circulating malicious rumors and fabricated intelligence. Quite often this word is used in context of a government or large organisation trying to cause difficulties for a rival.

Disinformation Media

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  The Etymology of Disinformation by H.Newman as published in The Journal of Information Warfare. Elements of the word disinformation have their origins in Proto-Indo-European language family. The Latin 'dis' and 'in' and can both be considered to have Proto-Indo-European roots, 'forma' is considerably more obscure. The green box in the figure highlights the origin 'forma' is uncertain, however, it may have its roots in the Aristotelean concept of μορφή (morphe) where something becomes a 'thing' when it has 'form' or substance.

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  The Etymology of Disinformation by H.Newman as published in The Journal of Information Warfare. Elements of the word disinformation have their origins in Proto-Indo-European language family. The Latin 'dis' and 'in' and can both be considered to have Proto-Indo-European roots, 'forma' is considerably more obscure. The green box in the figure highlights the origin 'forma' is uncertain, however, it may have its roots in the Aristotelean concept of μορφή (morphe) where something becomes a 'thing' when it has 'form' or substance.

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  Former Romanian secret police senior official Ion Mihai Pacepa exposed disinformation history in his book Disinformation (2013).

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  Chief of Russian foreign intelligence Yevgeny Primakov confirmed in 1992 that Operation INFEKTION was a disinformation campaign to make the world believe that the United States had invented AIDS.

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  Deception, Disinformation, and Strategic Communications, cover illustrating propaganda from Operation INFEKTION

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  How Disinformation Can Be Spread, explanation by U.S. Defense Department (2001)

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  A framework for how disinformation spreads in social media