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Merriam-Webster defines misinformation as “incorrect or misleading information,” while they define disinformation as “false information deliberately and often covertly spread (as by the planting of rumors) in order to influence public opinion or obscure the truth.” When someone claims that misinformation must be removed, are they truly trying to protect you from incorrect information, or are they using disinformation to hide what they do not like?
Whether government actors, corporate boards, or individuals, when someone claims that something should be shut down, de-platformed, or not allowed to be shared, they are rarely protecting you from misinformation (i.e., incorrect data), but they themselves are engaging in disinformation, the promotion of deliberately false information in an effort to influence you or obscure the truth. This is why the constitutions of both our states and of the United States protect our right to freedom of speech and of the press. Not to prevent the spread of misinformation but to counter it with better information.
The Constitution Study with Paul Engel on America Out Loud Talk Radio can be heard weekdays at 4 pm ET. Listen on iHeart Radio, our world-class media player, or our free apps on Apple, Android, or Alexa. Listen to other episodes of The Constitution Study, available on podcast.