Distinguish among Information, Propaganda, Misinformation, and Disinformation

• Information is data that is presented in an understandable context. Data are raw and unprocessed facts; information makes sense of data. For example, a patient’s vital signs (temperature, blood pressure, pulse, etc.) are data. Interpreting the vital signs in the context of health status is information. Information is neutral unto itself but is subject to manipulation, for purposes both good and bad. It then has the potential to become propaganda, misinformation, or disinformation.
• Propaganda is information represented in such a way as to provoke a desired response. Many people believe that propaganda is based on false information, but this is not necessarily so. Instead, propaganda may well be based in fact, but its purpose is to instill a particular attitude or emotion in order to gain public support for a cause or issue. Usually presented as advertising or publicity, propaganda encourages you to think or act according to the ideological, political, or commercial perspective of the message source. Military posters that encourage enlistment are an example of propaganda.
• Misinformation always refers to something that is not true. While propaganda may include factual information, misinformation does not. One common form of misinformation on the Internet is the urban legend—a fabricated story passed along by unsuspecting people.
• Disinformation is the deliberate falsification of information. Doctored photographs and falsified profit-and-loss statements are examples of disinformation in action. Unfortunately, disinformation thrives on the Internet.