The three words are often used as if they meant the same thing, but they describe different problems that need different responses. In 2017, Claire Wardle and Hossein Derakhshan published a report for the Council of Europe, Information Disorder, that separates them with two questions: is it false, and is it meant to harm?

Misinformation: false, but not meant to harm

Misinformation is false or inaccurate information shared by someone who believes it. A relative who forwards a wrong health tip is not lying; they are trying to help. The right response is patient correction with better evidence, not accusation.

Disinformation: false, and meant to harm

Disinformation is false information created or shared deliberately to mislead, damage or profit. A fabricated quote, a doctored image or a coordinated campaign of fake accounts belongs here. The response involves exposing the source and the method, not only the claim.

Malinformation: true, but used to harm

Malinformation is genuine information used to cause harm: leaking private details, or lifting a real fact out of its context to create a false impression. This category matters because it shows that "technically true" is not the same as honest.

Why the difference matters

  • Tone. Treating a worried relative like a propagandist pushes them away. Treating an organised campaign like an honest mistake lets it continue.
  • Method. Misinformation is often fixed with a good source. Disinformation often requires tracing who created it and why. Malinformation requires restoring the missing context.
  • Language. Calling everything "fake news" blurs these lines and makes serious conversations harder.

Where Honest News helps

The Claim to Evidence engine addresses the first question: is this claim supported by evidence? The Distortion Tracker addresses a harder one: does a report distort a real source by removing context, inflating numbers or adding spin? Many of the most effective misleading stories contain no outright lie at all.

Source: Wardle, C., & Derakhshan, H. (2017). Information Disorder: Toward an interdisciplinary framework for research and policy making. Council of Europe.