Defining terms
Joan Donovan, research director of the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy, explains:
Misinformation: Spreading false information (rumors, insults, and pranks).
Disinformation: The creation and distribution of intentionally false information, usually for political ends (scams, hoaxes, forgeries).
Infodemic: World Health Organization defines an infodemic as “an overabundance of information—some accurate and some not—that makes it hard for people to find trustworthy sources and reliable guidance when they need it.”
“Misinformation, disinformation, delusions, and deceit can kill.”
“Only a few months ago, I would have settled for emphasizing that our democracy depends on facts and truth, and it surely does,” Washington Post executive editor Martin Baron said at Harvard’s 2020 online graduation. “But now, as we can plainly see, it is more elemental than that. Facts and truth are matters of life and death.” harvard.edu/in-focus/managing-misinformation/
