[Ads-l] Antedating of "Disinformation"

[Laurence Horn]

Is there any evidence that the current sense of “disinformation" referring to a proper category (“deliberately….”) of misinformation—

The dissemination of deliberately false information, esp. when supplied by a government or its agent to a foreign power or to the media, with the intention of influencing the policies or opinions of those who receive it; false information so supplied.
[OED]

—predates 1955, the first OED cite?  A google ngram search reveals a sudden palpable rise in usage around 1980 and another spike currently ongoing.

LH

> On May 14, 2023, at 8:22 AM, Shapiro, Fred <fred.shapiro at YALE.EDU> wrote:
> 
> Yes, I think Jon's suggestion of a simple synonym for ordinary "misinformation" is likely.
> 
> Fred
> 
> 
> ________________________________
> From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU <mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>> on behalf of Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM <mailto:wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>>
> Sent: Saturday, May 13, 2023 5:30 PM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU <mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU <mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>>
> Subject: Re: Antedating of "Disinformation"
> 
> I wonder if this is either a typo influenced by "disseminated" or a simple
> synonym for ordinary "misinformation."
> 
> JL
> 
> On Sat, May 13, 2023 at 5:06 PM Shapiro, Fred <fred.shapiro at yale.edu> wrote:
> 
>> disinformation (OED 1955)
>> 
>> 1887 _Medicine Lodge_ (Kansas) _Cresset_ 17 Feb. 3/1 (Newspapers.com) The
>> amount of disinformation disseminated by the Sun City delegation is immense.
>> 
>> Fred Shapiro
>> 
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>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org/<http://www.americandialect.org/> <http://www.americandialect.org/%3Chttp://www.americandialect.org/%3E>
>> 
> 
> 
> --
> "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
> 
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