Your view of whether it is disinformation depends on whether you believe church leaders and politicians had sincere beliefs about it, so, obviously, that’s going to be pretty personal to you. I have met several federal level politicians and ‘influential’ church leaders and gotten to know them well enough that I can say they push lies with intent, so I’d be confident in stating that the various flavors of satanic panic weren’t entirely organic and honest.
Your view of whether it is disinformation depends on whether you believe church leaders and politicians had sincere beliefs about it, so, obviously, that’s going to be pretty personal to you. I have met several federal level politicians and ‘influential’ church leaders and gotten to know them well enough that I can say they push lies with intent, so I’d be confident in stating that the various flavors of satanic panic weren’t entirely organic and honest.