This is a historical minefield and I'm sure that no answer provided would satisfy everyone due to the highly politicized context in which these questions are often seen. I will try to limit myself to the known and verifiable facts therefore.

Misinformation, or "disinformation" as the Russians would call it, falls within the category of what scholars call "Black propaganda", a form of propaganda blending facts and lies and disseminated under a false flag or cover to influence or deceive opponents. Although its as old as mankind, the use of black propaganda was first systematically weaponized by Western governments during World War One. Within the British context, MI-7 (a nephew of MI5 and MI6) concerned itself with what they called "political warfare". Within the US Army, this concept came to be established as "psychological warfare".

In 1947, when the CIA was being established, it received the power to conduct "covert operations" and a presidential instruction to influence the elections in Italy to weaken the Communist electoral coalition. Historians seriously doubt the effect this has had on the Italian elections, especially because covert efforts were combined with overt US diplomatic promises of large sums of financial aid to Italy.

The CIA established the so-called Office of Policy Coordination that was in charge of running the CIA's covert propaganda operations, mainly in Western Europe where in 1948-1956 the possibility of Communist takeover through the ballot box seemed very real. By the early 1950's some 2 billion USD was spent by the US government on "propaganda and directly related activities", with the OPC spending 82 million in 1952, for example.

Through a host of front organizations, the CIA set up radio stations Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty, supposedly privately funded American broadcasting stations beaming news into Eastern Europe. The balance sheet of this project was mixed. On the one hand it did attract a lot of listeners in Eastern Europe, who saw it as a way of getting around state propaganda. At the same time, in 1956, RFE took the blame both from Eastern European dissidents and Western critics, as well as Soviets alike that they had irresponsibly whipped up emotions in Poland and Hungary and incited an uprising, thereby being responsible for the bloodshed that followed.

After 1965 the CIA began to scale back its covert propaganda projects, and by 1973 cut all its remaining ties to Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty. The stations continued to function, but without CIA funding.

There are stories of CIA disinformation campaigns against Cuba. Former CIA officer John Stockwell for example admitted that he had fabricated stories about Cuban soldiers in Angola being involved in raping of local girls. Also, during the Iran-Contra affair, the CIA allegedly fabricated stories that claimed involvement of the Sandinista's with drug trafficking.

So in short, yes, the CIA was involved in producing and disseminating disinformation. The scale and influence remain largely unknown as the files are classified. Disinformation belongs to the realm of covert operations, and the US law clearly gives the US president a mandate to use the CIA for conducting covert operations. More often than not, it is part of the functions of intelligence services because as CIA director Allen Dulles said, they're "an ideal vehicle for conspiracy".

Nicholas J. Cull, David Culbert, David Welch, "Propaganda and Mass Persuasion: a historical encyclopedia, 1500 to the present" (2003)

Michael Warner, "The Rise and Fall of Intelligence: an International Security History"

James Callanan, "Covert Action in the Cold War; US policy, intelligence, and CIA Operations" (2010)

Philip M. Taylor, "Munitions of the Mind: a history of propaganda from the ancient world to the present day" (2003).