[Ads-l] Antedating of "Disinformation"

[Stephen Goranson]

I Was Stalin's Agent by W.G. Krivitsky, 1939, here 1940 edition, page 257:

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From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at YALE.EDU>
Sent: Sunday, May 14, 2023 9:15 AM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Subject: Re: Antedating of "Disinformation"

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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>
> --
> "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
>
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