Typology and Mechanisms of Media Manipulation

The discussion around the problem of media manipulation has dramatically intensified in recent years, especially in connection with the spread of fake news via the Internet. For example, studies show that most people, unfortunately, do not distinguish between fake news and other types of news. However, the problem of fake news is not only related to fabricated media texts, but also reflects the audience’s general dissatisfaction with traditional mass media, some influential politicians, parties and organizations. From the audience’s point of view, the problem of fake news is not limited to false news – it also concerns low-quality journalism, political propaganda and misleading forms of advertising, (dis)trust in public institutions and media agencies. The fact, that in the modern media world unambiguously true and explicitly false information is becoming increasingly rare, further complicates the situation. As a rule, rather sophisticated manipulation techniques that mix reliable and fake information are being used, so there can be no simple judgements regarding the development of mechanisms to ban or remove false media information. Countering disinformation can be based both on technological (computer) algorithms and on qualitative analytics. We also believe that mass media education of the audience can effectively contribute to the development of analytical thinking and media competence of an individual. In particular, the synthesized typology of mass-media manipulation techniques (based on an analysis of scientific research) by the authors of the article can contribute to the development of media competence.