Disinformation Disinformation is intentionally false or inaccurate information that is spread deliberately . It is an act of deception and false statements to convince someone of untruth . Disinformation should not be confused with misinformation , information that is unintentionally false . Unlike traditional propaganda techniques designed to engage emotional support , disinformation is designed to manipulate the audience at the rational level by either discrediting conflicting information or supporting false conclusions . A common disinformation tactic is to mix some truth and observation with false conclusions and lies , or to reveal part of the truth while presenting it as the whole ( a limited hangout ) . Another technique of concealing facts , or censorship , is also used if the group can affect such control . When channels of information cannot be completely closed , they can be rendered useless by filling them with disinformation , effectively lowering their signal - to - noise ratio and discrediting the opposition by association with many easily disproved false claims . Examples of disinformation . In espionage or military intelligence , disinformation is the deliberate spreading of false information to mislead an enemy as to one ' s position or course of action . In politics , disinformation is the deliberate attempt to deflect voter support of an opponent , disseminating false statements of innuendo based on the candidates vulnerabilities as revealed by opposition research . In both cases , it also includes the distortion of true information in such a way as to render it useless . Disinformation may include distribution of forged document s , manuscripts , and photographs , or spreading dangerous rumour s and fabricated intelligence . Its techniques may also be found in commerce and government , used to try to undermine the position of a competitor . Napoleonic wars . In early 1799 , a French fleet under Vice - admiral Bruix was to depart from Brest , bound for the Mediterranean . In March , the French purchased the chasse - marée " Rebecca " and in April , they sent her with four swivel gun s and seven men , carrying a " capitaine de frégate " with false dispatches for Ireland and the mission to let herself captured . " Rebecca " gave herself up to the hired armed cutter " Black Joke " on 27 April 1799 , luring Admiral Bridport to Ireland , away from the route of the French fleet which successfully sailed south - west into Bruix ' expedition of 1799 . World War II and Cold War . A classic example of disinformation occurred during World War II , preceding the Normandy landings , in what would be known as Operation Fortitude . British intelligence convinced the German Armed Forces that a much larger invasion force was about to cross the English Channel from Kent , England . In reality , the Normandy landings were the main attempt at establishing a beachhead , made easier by the German Command ' s reluctance to commit its armies . Another act of World War II – era disinformation was Operation Mincemeat , where British intelligence dressed up a corpse , equipped it with fake invasion plans , and floated it out to sea where Axis troops would eventually recover it . The Cold War made disinformation a mainstream military and political tactic . Military disinformation techniques were described by Vladimir Volkoff . Disinformation by the KGB . According to senior SVR officer Sergei Tretyakov , the KGB was responsible for creating the entire nuclear winter story to stop the Pershing missiles . Tretyakov says that from 1979 the KGB wanted to prevent the United States from deploying the missiles in Western Europe and that , directed by Yuri Andropov , they distributed disinformation , based on a faked " doomsday report " by the Soviet Academy of Sciences about the effect of nuclear war on climate , to peace groups , the environmental movement and the journal . Another successful example of Soviet disinformation was the publication in 1968 of " Who ' s Who in the CIA " which was quoted as authoritative in the West until the early 1990s . Media . Conspiracy theorists often accuse governments of spreading disinformation in a " war for your mind " but also sometimes accuse each other of being " disinformation " agents . " One publishing company , The Disinformation Company , actually focuses on current affairs seeking to expose disinformation , and has been involved in television series , conferences and books . Its website collects " the most shocking , unusual and quirky news articles , podcasts and videos on the web , " mostly submitted by site visitors . But the Disinformation Company itself has been accused of spreading propaganda ( such as 9 / 11 " Truth " material ) by " The Unrepentent Marxist " critic Louis Proyect .