"Misinformation"

"Misinformation" is defined as false or misleading information spread without malicious intent. In theory, it refers to honest errors — not deliberate lies. In practice, the term has become a catch-all label applied by platforms, governments, and media organizations to speech they want to suppress, regardless of whether that speech is actually false. The definition of what counts as misinformation is itself deeply contested.

What it means

The word sounds neutral and scientific — surely false information is bad? — but the problem is the question of who decides what's false. Government health agencies declared the lab-leak hypothesis for COVID-19's origin to be misinformation in 2020; by 2023, U.S. intelligence agencies considered it the most likely origin. Speech questioning vaccine mandates was labeled misinformation; many of the specific claims have since been vindicated. Content questioning the 2020 election was labeled misinformation; its specific factual accuracy remains contested in ways that cannot be resolved by editorial fiat.

The pattern: contested political claims get labeled "misinformation" when they're inconvenient to powerful interests, and the label is then used to justify removal and suppression.

How it works on Gab

Gab does not apply "misinformation" labels or use them as a basis for content removal. Free speech, including contested factual claims, is permitted. Users who believe a claim is false are free to say so — visibly, in public, in response to the post. Gab's founders argue this is the correct model: open debate, not editorial labels, is how factual errors get corrected.

Related terms

"Misinformation" is distinguished from disinformation (which implies intent). Both are used as justifications for censorship and deplatforming. The enforcement tool is fact-checking.