Office of Misinformation

• Type: Ministry of Magic Department
• Location: Ministry of Magic, London, England
• Owner/Residents: Ministry of Magic
• Key Features: Tasked with the creation and dissemination of disinformation to conceal magic from Muggles.

The Office of Misinformation is a department within the British Ministry of Magic responsible for maintaining the International Statute of Secrecy. Its primary function is to invent and circulate plausible, non-magical explanations for magical incidents that risk being witnessed by Muggles. This is a crucial aspect of preventing the wider Muggle community from discovering the existence of the wizarding world. The office's work involves creating cover stories that can be fed to the Muggle authorities and news outlets. Arthur Weasley provided a clear example of their work to Harry Potter in 1992. When a member of the public reported seeing a flying dustbin, the Office of Misinformation concocted a story about a leaky gas pipe causing an explosion in a bungalow in Chipping Sodbury to explain away the sighting. This demonstrates their method of replacing a magical truth with a mundane, if unusual, falsehood. The office works in tandem with other departments, such as the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office and Memory Charmers, to manage breaches of secrecy.

The Office of Misinformation is mentioned exclusively in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Its existence is revealed by Arthur Weasley during a conversation with Harry Potter at The Burrow. This department serves as a key piece of world-building, illustrating the bureaucratic and practical measures the Ministry of Magic employs to enforce secrecy. It highlights the constant, low-level magical activity that must be hidden from Muggle eyes and the organized effort required to do so. The mention of this office gives depth to the wizarding government's operations and underscores the ever-present challenge of keeping the two worlds separate.

No specific rooms, layouts, or features of the Office of Misinformation's physical location within the Ministry of Magic are described in the novels.

The Office of Misinformation is a detail exclusive to the novels and is not mentioned or depicted in the film adaptations of the Harry Potter series. Its function is a canonical example of the organised “conspiracy” the Ministry of Magic perpetuates to hide its existence.