VOA慢速英语2018--Misinformation or Disinformation

 

The website Dictionary.com has chosen the term ‘misinformation’ as its word of the year. The announcement comes less than two weeks after Oxford¹ Dictionaries chose ‘toxic²’ as its word of the year.

Many people mix up the meaning of misinformation with the word disinformation. They sometimes use one term in place of the other.

Dictionary.com defines misinformation as “false information that is spread, regardless of whether there is intent to mislead.” And it describes disinformation as “deliberately misleading or biased³ information; manipulated narrative⁴ or facts; propaganda.”

So what's the difference?

Officials at Dictionary.com say it comes down to what the writer or speaker actually means. They say that “when people spread misinformation, they often believe the information they are sharing.” But disinformation is often shared with the goal of misleading others. For example, if people share information that they know to be false in a story or a picture, that is disinformation.

Jane Solomon is a language expert with Dictionary.com. She told VOA that the choice of misinformation, instead of disinformation, was done for a reason. She said, “disinformation is a word that looks outside of ourselves. You can point a finger at someone who is spreading this disinformation.”

As for misinformation, “there is a quality of looking inward and it helps us evaluate our own behavior” to fight against the spread of misinformation.

The word misinformation has been used since the late 1500s. But Solomon said the word was chosen this year because it also “ties to a lot of events that are happening in 2018.”

In Myanmar, misinformation, like hate speech and propaganda, fueled violence against Rohingya Muslims. And there were riots in Sri Lanka after stories that proved false set the country's Buddhist⁵ majority against Muslims.

The disappearance⁶ and reported killing⁷ of Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi fueled misinformation about him and his fiancée. And stories about Brazil’s recent presidential election were filled with misinformation, everything from incorrect voting times to false campaign promises.

Facebook and other social media websites have published misinformation, including images of police arresting immigrants and long lines at voting stations in the United States. They also posted incorrect voting hours and false voting requirements before the November 6 elections.

Liz McMillan is head of Dictionary.com. She noted⁸ that the online publisher has chosen words like identity in 2015, xenophobia in 2016, and complicit in 2017.

She said, “By arming our users with these words and enabling them to identify misinformation when it is encountered gives us a fighting chance against its influence.”

I'm Dorothy Gundy.

Words in This Story

toxic - adj. poisonous

regardless of - phrase. without being stopped or affected⁹

biased - adj. showing unfair tendency to believe that some people, ideas ... are better than others

manipulate - v. to deal with or control someone or something

narrative - n. a story that is told or written

evaluate - v. to judge the value or condition of someone or something

fiancée - n. a woman that a man is engaged to be married to

1 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

2 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

3 biased   

a.有偏见的

参考例句：

• a school biased towards music and art 一所偏重音乐和艺术的学校
• The Methods: They employed were heavily biased in the gentry's favour. 他们采用的方法严重偏袒中上阶级。

4 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
• Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。

5 Buddhist   

adj./n.佛教的，佛教徒

参考例句：

• The old lady fell down in adoration before Buddhist images.那老太太在佛像面前顶礼膜拜。
• In the eye of the Buddhist,every worldly affair is vain.在佛教徒的眼里，人世上一切事情都是空的。

6 disappearance   

n.消失，消散，失踪

参考例句：

• He was hard put to it to explain her disappearance.他难以说明她为什么不见了。
• Her disappearance gave rise to the wildest rumours.她失踪一事引起了各种流言蜚语。

7 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

8 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

9 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。