Table 1.

Definitions

Commercial fraud	False, deceptive, incomplete, or misleading expression used to promote products or services that do not perform as advertised and thereby encourage reliance on the expression to engage recipients in a commercial transaction that results in a loss for the purchaser [12]
Disinformation	Misinformation intentionally designed to be false, manipulated, or misleading [13]
Disinformation propaganda	The purposeful and widespread dissemination of information on a topic of public interest known to be false with the intention of generating insecurity, tearing cohesion, inciting hostility, or disrupting democratic processes; may use automated dissemination techniques to amplify the effect of the communication [3, 13]
False information	Information presented as fact that has been disproven as inaccurate or not truthful
Misinformation	Umbrella term to cover all inaccurate or false information or information of unknown accuracy, transmitted through any means
Propaganda	The use of unethical persuasion techniques on matters of public interest (politics, health, environment) that aim to influence societal processes and gain geopolitical advantage [13]
Rumors	The term “rumor” is connected to an extensive local vocabulary and circulation of information; rumors may or may not be false. Rumors include the dissemination of information within a community through word-of-mouth and online social networks but can also be disseminated through other means and beyond one’s community and network [14]
Whistleblower	A person who exposes information they reasonably believe, at the time of disclosure, to be true and to constitute a threat or harm to the public interest, such as a violation of law, abuse of authority, waste, fraud, or harm to the environment, public health, or public safety [10]