Disinfo

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Disinformation Company logo

The Disinformation Company is a multimedia company that specializes in presenting information of a controversial, subversive, extreme, or just plain unusual nature. The company publishes a number of books and DVDs, as well as a web site (disinfo.com) about conspiracies, subculture, politics, and other topics the traditional media don't often cover. In 2002, the company produced Disinformation, a documentary series that lasted only four episodes. (Some sources list this series with the alternate title, Disinfo Nation)

They have released DVDs and movies featuring the work of Greg Palast, The Yes Men, and directors Robert Greenwald and Steven Greenstreet. Disinformation books feature articles and essays by a diverse and notable selection of writers such as Howard Bloom, Naomi Klein, Michael Moynihan and Genesis P-Orridge to name just a few.

Gary Baddeley is publisher and Alex Burns is editor.

Launched on September 13, 1996, disinformation was designed to be the search service of choice for individuals looking for information on current affairs, politics, new science and the "hidden information" that seldom seems to slip through the cracks of the corporate-owned media conglomerates. Originally it was a project of AND interactive, an early Hollywood based internet company also responsible for such diverse projects as the Getty Museum and the internet political humor soap opera Candidate 96. Ironically, AND interactive was funded by one of the largest media companies in the world (TeleCommunications, Inc. (TCI), now part of Comcast), who paid for disinformation's placement on Netscape's then ubiquitous search page. Cutting edge (for the time) design by Jose Caballer - later of THE GROOP- contributed to the site's edgy feel, along with its tag line "everything you know is wrong".

The site drew immediate attention and (usually) applause from the very same news media that it was criticizing as being under the influence of both government and big business, but the honeymoon was short. Some three weeks after launch the CEO of TCI learned of Disinformation and immediately ordered it closed down. Needless to say, the founding team managed to keep the site going, winning an award for politics in the first Webby Awards ceremony. It has evolved into the largest and most popular alternative news and underground culture destination on the Web. At the height of the dotcom boom The Disinformation Company was acquired by one of the high fliers of the so-called "New Economy", Razorfish under the auspices of its new media division RSUB (Razorfish Subnetwork); when the bubble burst so did Razorfish and today The Disinformation Company is independently owned with offices in New York City. In addition to this site, The Disinformation Company also has thriving publishing, television and home video divisions.