infohazard

English

Etymology

Blend of information +‎ hazard or info +‎ hazard.

Noun

infohazard (plural infohazards)

  1. (chiefly science fiction) A piece of information which is directly harmful to one who knows it.
    Synonym: memetic hazard
    Hyponym: Roko's basilisk
    Coordinate term: cognitohazard
    • [2019 June 13, Tom Chivers, The AI Does Not Hate You‎[1], Orion Publishing Group, →ISBN:
      A basilisk, in this context, is information that can hurt you simply because you are aware of it. Yudkowsky uses the term 'infohazard'.]
    • 2019 August 28, Fletcher Wortmann, “Infohazard Warning: How Internal Memes Infect Your Brain”, in Triggered‎[2], Psychology Today, retrieved 31 August 2020:
      If a meme is any idea that gets in your head, then an "infohazard" is a meme that's actively harmful to its host.
  2. An information hazard; a piece of information which can be used to cause harm by one who knows it.

Derived terms

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