disinformation

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The Word of the Day for July 20 is:

disinformation   \dis-in-fer-MAY-shun\   noun
     : false information deliberately and often covertly spread (as by the 
planting of rumors) in order to influence public opinion or obscure the truth 

Example sentence:
     The writer's latest book examines the effects of propaganda and 
disinformation during the Cold War.

Did you know?
     In 1939, a writer describing Nazi intelligence activities noted, "The mood 
of national suspicion prevalent during the last decade ... is well illustrated 
by General Krivitsky's account of the German 'Disinformation Service,' engaged 
in manufacturing fake military plans for the express purpose of having them 
stolen by foreign governments." Although the Nazis were accused of using 
disinformation back in the 1930s, the noun and the practice are most often 
associated with the Soviet KGB. Many people think "disinformation" is a literal 
translation of the Russian "dezinformatsiya," which means "misinformation," a 
term the KGB allegedly used in the 1950s to name a department created to 
dispense propaganda.






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