Misinformation, Disinformation

Gyeongyeong Lim.

Thank you for writing, Lim.

This is a very good question.

Mis and dis are both common prefixes in English.

Prefixes are letters we add to the beginning of a word.

Each prefix has a meaning.

Adding a prefix to a word makes a new word with a new meaning.

Let's start with mis and misinformation.

Mis means bad or wrong.

For example, add mis to adventure, and we get the new word misadventure.

A misadventure is an unlucky event, or a bad adventure or experience.

So misinformation means wrong or bad information.

Misinformation often comes from someone misunderstanding something.

We often use misinformation with the phrase a lot of.

For example, there is a lot of misinformation on the internet.

Next, let's look at disinformation.

Dis means not or none.

For example, if we add dis to agree, the new word disagree means to not agree.

It might seem like disinformation just means not information.

But its meaning is more complex than that.

Disinformation means false information that is spread on purpose.

A person, group, or government can spread disinformation.

Their goal is to hide the truth or trick people.

We often use disinformation with the word campaign.

For example, I hope the disinformation campaign does not work.

Someone who spreads disinformation knows that the information is untrue.

But when misinformation spreads, it is generally not done to deceive or trick people.

We often use both misinformation and disinformation with the word spread.

Note that spread can be a verb or a noun.

For example, the internet spreads a lot of misinformation.

The government should stop the spread of disinformation.

We hope this explanation has helped you, Lim.

Do you have a question about American English?

Send us an email at learningenglish@voanews. Com.

And that's Ask a Teacher.

I'm Gina Bennett.