Weltschau

A fake in the 21st century is a phenomenon that in the short term can lead to negative consequences: the emergence of foci of social tension and destabilization of the socio-political situation both in a separate region and in the state as a whole. Long-term use of methods of disseminating false information can lead to the discrediting of the country in the international arena, a change in the worldview and beliefs of citizens, and the formation of a national idea in a favorable spectrum for a certain person or group of persons.

Hundreds of years of wars, conflicts, and interstate clashes have changed the state of affairs, views, organizations, and positions of the world community. Scientific and technical progress, which does not stop for a moment, is a characteristic feature of both modern times and those relatively distant times. This phenomenon is accompanied by the rapid development of both information technologies used in everyday life and technical discoveries at the international level, in particular, in foreign policy.

A comprehensive study of such a factor as a fake provides invaluable experience that can be used and needed not only in scientific circles but also in other, more practical areas—for example, specialists in modern foreign policy for the introduction of anti-fakes into circulation and global countermeasures against information threats.

Examining the fake phenomenon in modern literature will allow us to better understand its anatomy and trace all the negative factors to which this phenomenon leads Ukraine and the world. That is why the issue of the spread of fake news in the context of media literacy, and especially media safety, is significant and relevant for research, since today we observe, and sometimes really feel, the impact of false information and the consequences of the pollution of the infospace.

Fakes are different in form, methods of transmission, and content, so it became necessary to classify them. According to the method of distribution, fakes are divided into mass media rumors (which are created specifically for the media and spread through them) and network rumors (when someone’s fiction is spread through social networks). The forms of fakes include photo fakes, video fakes, and deep fakes, among others.

Information is sometimes not only a speculator but also a powerful provocation, a convenient tool for inciting enmity and hatred. In this context, we are talking about Ukraine, because the Russian Federation is famous for its fake and absurd news. A classic example was the fake report of the 1st Russian TV channel about a boy allegedly crucified by soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, but it could only appear because of a cynical propaganda campaign against Ukraine in the Russian media, as well as a direct order of such materials from higher authorities.

Also, the successes that confirm the effectiveness of Russian hybrid propaganda, in addition to the territory of Ukraine, include numerous reports and investigations by the special services of European countries and the United States regarding the effective interference of Russia in the presidential elections of Ukraine and the United States, the Brexit vote in Great Britain, the French presidential election, the referendum in the Netherlands regarding Ukraine’s accession to the Association between the European Union (EU) and Ukraine, and elections in other European countries.

At a time when the veracity of information risks becoming a new currency and the terms “media literacy” and “fact checking” have entered the usual lexicon for Ukrainians, the world is inventing more sophisticated ways of checking trust in modern media. How to distinguish true information from fake and resist disinformation? Researchers claim that if the user has taken a fake for the truth, then it often does not make sense to prove to him reliable information.

At the beginning of the 21st century, the concept of hybrid wars appears in military science, which describes modern warfare as a combination of conventional, irregular, and asymmetric methods, which includes the constant manipulation of political and ideological conflict. In such wars, economic blackmail, cyber attacks, proxy servers, terrorists, criminal elements, etc. are used, but a special place is occupied by information confrontation. It is the spread of fake news that puts the issue of media literacy and media safety at the highest level in national legislation and the international arena. Therefore, the media space today is a particularly vulnerable place. Every consumer should be aware of the harm of false information and be critical of any news, even if it seems completely true and adequate at first glance.

Valeria Derkach is a student pursuing a Master’s degree in Journalism at V.I. Vernadskyi Taura National University.