Analysis of modern mechanisms of influence on the mass consciousness in cyberspace and ways to prevent the spreading of destructive information

Abstract

Information and destructive influence on Ukrainian society has become an effective element of the hybrid war, which has long been conducted by special units of the Russian Federation. Under the guise of imaginary intentions to help the Russian-speaking population, Russia is trying to seize economically profitable and strategically profitable territories of Ukraine, actively setting up special-purpose military units without sparing the country's financial resources. The information space (mass media and other Internet-sources) has acquired the status of a separate arena for the aggressive use of forces and means of the armed forces of the Russian Federation. The popularity of social media has opened a separate space for the application of informational influence on certain target audiences. To research the issue, it is necessary to identify the causes and mechanisms of the impact of media content on human consciousness. The development of social media has established a new level for mass communications, through the creation of numerous groups – Internet communities (virtual communities) with fundamentally new opportunities to influence traditional public and state structures. It is possible to define virtual communities as a type of communities that arise and function in the information space (primarily through the Internet) in order to help solve their professional, political problems, meet their needs in art, leisure and more [1]. Along with constructive virtual communities that seek to actively interact with society, with the aim of improving the lives of society as a whole and individual social groups and individuals, social media are increasingly used to create destructive virtual communities. However, destructive virtual communities, in contrast to constructive ones, try to fight this community in various, not always legal, ways. The object of aggression of destructive virtual communities can be a society or supporters of certain social groups, usually hostile to this destructive virtual community [2]. That is why virtual communities are increasingly used in the interests of information and psychological influence by Russian military specialists in social engineering. They provide wide spectrum of opportunities in terms of influencing the formation of world public opinion, political, economic and military decisions, influencing the information resources of the enemy and the dissemination of specially prepared information (misinformation) [3].