Fake News as a Threat to National Security and as a Tool of Information Management

Abstract

This article examines the nature of the origin and functional principles of socalled fake news — reports that are deliberately false in nature which can create a stir in a society around a non-existent informational case born of the same news source. In combination with viral technologies and mechanisms of distribution in the media and social networks, fake news in modern political campaigns is becoming a dangerous tool for infl uencing the mass consciousness of societies. The main task of fake news in modern political campaigns and processes is the interception of the political agenda, with its subsequent closure to the news feed generated by the fake news itself, as well as the creation of general excitement around the given news story. In some cases, fake news can be used by extremists to create socio-political tensions, provoke panic and raise protest sentiments, which can create signifi cant threats to national security.

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