manipulation

The article touches upon the most urgent problem of information manipulation with the aim of infl uencing society. In most sources manipulation is interpreted as the use of certain techniques and technologies, under the influence of which the behavior of people changes in the direction necessary for the manipulator. It is noted that the most favorable conditions for the implementation of manipulation technologies are formed in the information society, in which information, knowledge and information technologies play a special role.

The main methods to counteract manipulative techniques used by mass media for political purposes are considered in this article. Among others, the author argues the necessity to compare information from different news sources, to check credibility of the facts conveyed by journalists, and to evaluate the extent to which a story is balanced.

In the modern world the so-called hate speech is gaining ground. It is particularly used within the framework of the political communication. This process is accompanied by the strengthening of the manipulative influence upon the society and it can be seen as one of its manifestations. Hate speech may precede serious social upheavals and revolutions but it can also be used as a method of enslavement of man by the all-powerful state creating the illusory enemies. 

Empirical base of this article is comprised of five monographs by A.V. Fedorov and his colleagues published from 2013 to 2015. The author highlights several, from his point of view, the most urgent and important issues touched on in the writings considered. An idea is substantiated that necessity to develop social and political model of media education is becoming patently obvious nowadays.