{{Refimprove|date=October 2025}} {{Short description|Factual information disseminated with harmful intention}} {{see also|Disinformation|Misinformation|Fake news}}
'''Malinformation''' is information which is based on fact, but removed from its original context in order to mislead, harm, or manipulate.<ref>{{cite web |archive-date=2025-01-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250117014106/https://www.cisa.gov/topics/election-security/foreign-influence-operations-and-disinformation |url=https://www.cisa.gov/topics/election-security/foreign-influence-operations-and-disinformation |title=Foreign Influence Operations and Disinformation |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2023 |website=Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency |access-date=11 March 2024 |quote="Malinformation is based on fact, but used out of context to mislead, harm, or manipulate. An example of malinformation is editing a video to remove important context to harm or mislead."}}</ref> Whether something should be considered malinformation can therefore contain an element of subjectivity, and it is therefore a controversial concept. Proponents of the term argue that malinformation is often used in conjunction with disinformation and misinformation as part of "orchestrated campaigns [to] spread untruths", a phenomenon known as fake news.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |date=2018-09-03 |title=Journalism, 'Fake News' and Disinformation: A Handbook for Journalism Education and Training |url=https://en.unesco.org/fightfakenews |access-date=2023-06-15 |website=UNESCO |language=en}}</ref> Critics believe the concept can be used to censor dissenting opinions.
== History == The term was first coined by Hossein Derakhshan and was used in a co-authored report titled "Information Disorder: Toward an interdisciplinary framework for research and policy making".<ref name=":12">{{Cite web |last1=Wardle |first1=Claire |last2=Derakhshan |first2=Hossein |date=2017 |title=Information Disorder: Toward an interdisciplinary framework for research and policy making |url=https://rm.coe.int/information-disorder-toward-an-interdisciplinary-framework-for-researc/168076277c |access-date=2023-06-15 |website=Freedom of Expression |language=en-GB}}</ref> According to Derakhshan, examples of malinformation can include "revenge porn, where the change of context from private to public is the sign of malicious intent", or providing false information about where and when a photograph was taken in order to mislead the viewer<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Grech |first=Jacob |date=2023-03-27 |title=Personalised media consumption, malinformation and the nature of platforms - In conversation with Hossein Derakhshan |url=https://www.3cl.org/personalised-media-consumption-malinformation-and-the-nature-of-platforms-in-conversation-with-hossein-derakhshan/ |access-date=2023-06-15 |website=3CL Foundation |language=en-GB}}</ref> (the picture is real, but the meta-information and its context is changed).
== Criticism == Critics of the term malinformation argue that "unlike 'disinformation,' which is intentionally misleading, or 'misinformation,' which is erroneous, 'malinformation' is true but inconvenient".<ref>{{Cite web |first=Jacob | last=Sullum |date=22 March 2023 |title=The Crusade Against 'Malinformation' Explicitly Targets Inconvenient Truths|url=https://reason.com/2023/03/22/the-crusade-against-malinformation-explicitly-targets-inconvenient-truths/ |access-date=2023-06-15 |website=reason.com |language=en}}</ref> Journalists have raised concerns that terms such as malinformation expand the definition of "harmful content" to encompass true information that supports non-mainstream views, resulting in people who hold dissenting viewpoints being censored and silenced even if those views are substantiated.<ref>{{Cite web |first=Andrey |last=Wir|title=‘Malinformation’ and the Wrong Truth : By accepting the concept of "misleading truth," democratic society departs from its foundations |url=https://www.discoursemagazine.com/p/malinformation-and-the-wrong-truth |date=March 16, 2023|website=Discourse Magazine |language=en-GB}}</ref>
==See also== * Hate speech * Infohazard * Stovepiping * Thoughtcrime
== References == {{Reflist}}
{{Misinformation}} {{Censorship}} Category:Deception Category:Freedom of speech