MEDIA MANIPULATIONS IN THE CONDITIONS OF RUSSIAN-UKRAINIAN WAR (CASE STUDY OF LOCAL MASS MEDIA)

Abstract

Purpose. The article deals with the study of manipulative content in the media in the conditions of the Russian- Ukrainian war using the example of the Volyn information space. It has been observed that the main purpose of Russian propaganda is to put us in a state of panic, to make us scared and disoriented and think of running away or surrendering to the enemy as soon as possible, wasting time sending such messages instead of actually helping the army and our country. It was noted that nowadays the main source of spreading manipulative content is primarily social networks, in particular various groups, chats, communities, unofficial Telegram channels, etc. Today, in the conditions of a full-scale Russian-Ukrainian war, it is important to be able to detect and refute all kinds of manipulations, because being armed on the information front means knowing fakes by sight. It is important to define the main markers of disinformation, typical signs of hostile fakes, to be able to think critically and be media literate. Among the main signs of manipulative messages, the following are differentiated: incomplete / inaccurate information; coverage of the event is one-sided; there are not enough arguments, but a lot of clichés, labels, stereotyped judgments; excessive emotionality and lack of references to sources; intimidation; unknown or biased experts; presentation of facts together with assessments or lack of the former. Methods: processing of sources, descriptive analysis. Results. The research analyzed in detail the most popular fake news of a propaganda nature that appeared in the Volyn media with the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Russia (from February 24, 2022). Stylistic, textual and formal features of false messages are indicated, as well as the main ways of refuting them. The actual media material was selected by means of a continuous survey of the local, in particular, Volyn information space in the conditions of war, and manipulative content was also used, which is refuted by such sites and anti-fake projects as “StopFake”, “Brekhunets/Fibber», “NotaYenota”, “Detector Media”, “Institute of Mass Information” etc. Conclusions. The presented article offers step-by-step recommendations for combating fake news in the mass media, and also tells about basic knowledge you need to have in order to counter fakes and be information literate in the conditions of martial law in Ukraine.