Giving false information in good faith
Kayla and Rob are good friends, and they also happen to be taking a class together at a community college. The class is very small, so the professor knows all of the students by name. One day, Rob decides to play hookie. He texts Kayla and tells her that he "got really sick and won't be in class today." Kayla writes back an acknowledgement and a get-well-soon, and goes to class. The professor notices that Rob is not present, and casually asks the class if they have seen Rob. Kayla pipes up and says "He's sick today."
Eventually, the professor finds out that Rob was not actually sick, and just took the day off. He also happens to know that they are friends, so he is disappointed not only in Rob, but also in Kayla for "lying" to him about Rob.
Kayla did not tell the truth, but pragmatically she did not "lie." She merely forwarded false information that she believed to be true, as she was given that information in good faith by someone she trusted.
I'm looking for the most succinct, accurate phrase/expression/word to describe "giving someone false information while believing (and having good reason to believe) at that time that the information is true."
Solution 1:
Unwitting
Not knowing; unaware; not intended; unintentional.
Kayla unwittingly answered that he was ill.
Solution 2:
She reported in good faith:
Give a spoken or written account of something that one has observed, heard, done, or investigated:
ODO
From page 304 of Kelly M. Pyrek's Forensic Nursing, 2006:
The false-reporting laws must be read together with the immunity statutes and case law; however, persons who report in good faith are immune from civil and criminal liability.
On its own, the expression says nothing about the truth of the report, but in the context of a report that has been falsified, it concedes the fallacy without accepting responsibility for the misrepresentations of others.
Solution 3:
Why not the phrase unknowingly misrepresents?
Depending on context, misrepresent can be neutral as to intent
(transitive) to represent wrongly or inaccurately
Collins
Unknowingly takes care of the intent.
Solution 4:
It is called misinformation and it differs from disinformation.
Everybody makes mistakes, even sources with the best of intentions. Honest mistakes are known as misinformation. People can be wrong, or misinformed, and still believe they're perfectly correct.
When sources make mistake on purpose, it is disinformation.
"Cited!: Identifying Credible Information Online" By Larry Gerber
Example:
They had lied to me and I had passed misinformation on to my neighbors.
The Kokomo Tribune from Kokomo, Indiana - Page 35 / newspapers.com
Solution 5:
It was naive of her to repeat such hearsay.
na·ïve /naɪˈiːv/ adjective -dictionary.com
- having or showing a lack of experience, judgment, or information
hear·say /ˈhirˌsā/ noun -Google
information received from other people that one cannot adequately substantiate; rumor.