2018 word of the year is a lie — sort of

This announcement isn't fake news.

“Misinformation” is the 2018 word of the year, Dictionary.com announced Monday. The word beat out finalists that included “representation,” “self-made” and “backlash.”

Misinformation is defined by Dictionary.com as “false information that is spread, regardless of whether there is intent to mislead.”

“In 2018, we need to be talking about misinformation because misinformation is what's driving people's choices, behaviors and action,” Alicia Garza — cofounder and strategic adviser of Black Lives Matter, partnerships director of the National Domestic Work Alliance and principal of Black Futures Lab — said in a video posted with the announcement.

“There has been a lot of misinformation about what's happening around the world, and it's creating a lot of chaos.”

The dictionary selected the word as a “call to action” against fake news, antivaxxers and flat-Earthers.

The word “toxic” was picked this month for the same honor by Oxford Dictionaries.