The End of the Word “Misinformation”?

Key points

The organization NewsGuard is retiring the words “misinformation” and “disinformation.”

NewsGuard aims to use more specific language, such as “false claims,” to describe problematic reporting.

Psychology research has long examined the effects of language on perceptions and behaviors.

Research can help ascertain what language best helps people understand the dangers of, well, misinformation.

“In today’s fractured information ecosystem, one person’s ‘misinformation’ or ‘disinformation’ is another’s truth. And in that ambiguity, bad actors win.” So writes McKenzie Sadeghi of the online platform NewsGuard as she explains their decision to retire those problematic words. This shift, at first glance, seems to mimic an earlier shift away from “ fake news ,” which had become so