Check the dictionary and you will find this listing: "mis*in*for*ma*tion \, n. Untrue or incorrect information" (Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, 1996, 1998 MICRA Inc.). Formerly the practice was known as lying.  But today the term misinformation is politically correct and less offensive than the cutting term which has been used for centuries.  There are some who contend that there is no more lying today than ever before; however, it is just more sophisticated, more acceptable, and less offensive. I disagree.