Manipulation of mass consciousness. Manipulation of mass consciousness or how humanity is deceived

And today I will continue my thought and talk about manipulation of consciousness... The article will consider the history of manipulation, basic laws, methods of influence and ways of protection... The article will consider both private manipulations of a certain person, and mass manipulation of consciousness... Conclusions will be drawn, we will conduct a couple of polls (so let's get active!). Don't be offended by your grandfather Goebbels ... In general, get down to reading. :) The blog did not fit the entire original review, much had to be shortened, and the article was divided into 2 parts. Original version ... 23 pages with specific examples. Maybe someone will come in handy for an essay, report, presentation at seminars in psychology or sociology.

What is manipulation?

“There are speeches - the meaning is dark or insignificant,
But it is impossible to listen to them without excitement. "
M. Yu. Lermontov (1841)

The very word " manipulation "Is rooted in a Latin word manus - hand ( manipulus - a handful, a handful, from manus and ple - fill). And it is not for nothing that manipulations are drawn in the head of many as a symbolic image. puppeteer hands with strings reaching for the puppet .

Psychological manipulation - type of social, psychological impact, a socio-psychological phenomenon that is the desire to change the perception or behavior of other people with the help of hidden , deceiving or violent tactics ... Since, as a rule, such methods promote interests manipulator, often at the expense of other people, they can be considered operational , violent , dishonest and unethical ... Any manipulation of consciousness is interaction. A sacrifice manipulation a person can become only if he acts as co-author , partner in crime ... Only if a person, under the influence of the received signals, reconstructs his views, opinions, moods, goals - and begins to act according to a new program - manipulation took place... Manipulation is not only hidden psychological abuse, but also temptation... An important role here is played by the use of opinion leaders who influence the formation of opinions within their group.
More often, manipulation has negative coloration ... However, the doctor may try to convince the patient to change the unhealthy habits. Social impact is generally considered harmless when it is respects the right a person to accept or reject and is not overly coercive ... Depending on the context and motivation, social impact can be subtle manipulation.

Manipulation history

“Leopards rushed into the temple and lapped from the sacrificial vessels, draining them to the bottom.
This was repeated over and over again.
In the end, it became possible to foresee and became part of the ceremony. "
(Warning in one of the parables Franz Kafka (1883 — 1924),
who with his painful psychological revelations
helped a lot in the creation of modern manipulation technology)

The term "manipulation" is a metaphor and is used in a figurative sense: dexterity in handling things is transferred in this metaphor to dexterous management of people (and, of course, no longer with hands, but with special " manipulators »).

The metaphor of manipulation took shape gradually . Psychologists believe that an important stage in its development was the designation by this word of magicians who work without complicated devices with their hands (“ manipulator magician "). The art of these artists following the motto "Sleight of hand and no fraud" , based on the properties of human perception and attention - on the knowledge of human psychology. The magician-manipulator achieves its effects using psychological stereotypes spectators, distracting, moving and concentrating them Attention acting on the imagination - creating illusions of perception ... If the artist owns skill , it is very difficult to notice the manipulation.

It was when all these principles entered into

technology management of people's behavior, a metaphor of manipulation arose in its modern sense - as programming the opinions and aspirations of the masses, their moods and even mental state in order to ensure their behavior that is needed by those who own the means of manipulation.

The manipulation of consciousness goes back to the origins of human civilization. Control of human consciousness has always been and will be the basis for the existence of a political system. Mass manipulation of consciousness gained particular strength in the last century with the development of television and radio broadcasting, the emergence of the media (means of manipulating information!), And a little later the Internet.

The father of the progenitor of manipulation of consciousness should be considered Joseph Goebbels (1897 - 1945) - unsurpassed propaganda masters , speaker , manipulator and right hand Adolf Hitler .
It was with his submission that the cosmic scale of the control of the consciousness of the masses began. It should be noted that with an increase of 165 centimeters, being lame on the leg, a C grade, who was unlucky at the initial stages of his career (like Hitler), he had a huge charisma! And what's the secret? And all ingenious is simple. He impregnated and satisfied " a woman " - the mass! He told them what they wanted to hear, he promised them what they would like to receive! Unwavering Purpose - this is the source of charisma! "The more monstrous the lie, the more willingly they will believe in it" (or, in the words Vladimir Putin , "The more incredible the lie, the faster they will believe in it" ).

And so in 1931 at work "Nazi-social" Goebbels is already writing "10 Commandments for Every National Socialist."
And they sound so beautiful! And how great these were ideas!!!

Wilfried von Aries , one of Goebbels's assistants in last years war, referring to " Mein Kampf"Hitler, as well as" Psychology of peoples and masses» Gustave Le Bon , compiled a "propaganda decalogue" of his boss, who is the basis of propaganda and manipulation of consciousness!

The laws of manipulation

Manipulation has its own specific the lawsabout which I want to tell you now. Then we will move on directly to the methods of manipulating and protecting our consciousness.

Consciousness manipulation postulates

Manipulation is a kind of spiritual, psychological influence, a form of hidden psychological violence (and not physical violence or threat of violence). The target of the manipulator's actions is the psyche of the human personality, its image of the world, common values, ideas, beliefs, stereotypes and attitudes of the target audience.

1. People whose consciousness is being manipulated are not treated as individuals, but as objects, special kinds of things, deprived of freedom of choice. Manipulation is part of the technology of power.


2. Manipulation is based on substitution true reasons events that are imaginary, disorienting the object in the direction necessary for the manipulator. This task can be accomplished both with the help of the media and on the basis of informal information channels.

Consciousness manipulation success

1. Manipulation islatent influence , the fact of whichshould not be seen object of manipulation. As notedG. Schiller , “To be successful, manipulation must remain invisible. The success of manipulation is guaranteed when the manipulated person believes that everything that happens is natural and inevitable. In short, manipulation requires a false reality in which its presence will not be felt. " ... When an attempt at manipulation is revealed and the disclosure becomes widely known, the action is usually curtailed, since the disclosed fact of such an attempt causes significant damage to the manipulator. Hiding even more carefullythe main objective - so that even the disclosure of the very fact of an attempt at manipulation does not lead to the clarification of distant intentions. Therefore, hiding, withholding information is a mandatory sign, although some manipulation techniques include “ ultimate self-disclosure », a game of sincerity when the politician tears his shirt on his chest and blows a mean man's tear down his cheek.


2. Manipulation is an impact thatrequires significant skill and knowledge ... Since the manipulation of public consciousness has become a technology, professional workers have appeared who own this technology (or parts of it). A system of personnel training, scientific institutions, scientific and popular science literature appeared.


3. The condition for successful manipulation is that in the overwhelming majority of cases the overwhelming majority of citizens spend neither mental and mental strength, nor time to doubt the messages.mass media ... A purposeful change in public sentiment creates a field of opportunities ( Overton window ) to implement a manipulative program.

According to George Simon (George K. Simon ), success psychological manipulation primarily depends on how skillful the manipulator is:

• hides aggressive intentions and behavior;


• knows the psychological vulnerability of the victim in order to determine which tactics will be most effective;


• It has enough level cruelty so as not to worry about damaging the victim if necessary.

Overton Window Theory

Overton Window - political theory, which is described as a "window" boundaries ideas that can be accepted by society. According to this theory, the political viability of an idea depends mainly on whether it hits the “window” rather than on the preferences of a particular politician. At any given moment, the "window" includes the area of ​​political ideas that can be considered acceptable in the current state of public opinion, views that a politician can hold without fear of being accused of excessive radicalism or extremism. Shift the windows at which certain political actions become possible do not occur when ideas change among politicians, but when they change in the society that votes for those politicians.

Methods for influencing consciousness

Simon identified the following management practices:

1. Lie - it is difficult to tell if someone is lying when speaking, and often truth may open later, when it's too late ... The only way to minimize the possibility of being deceived is to realize that certain types of individuals (especially psychopaths ) - masters in the art of lies and fraud, they do it systematically and, often, in subtle ways.


2. Deception by default - very slim shape lying by withholding a substantial amount of truth. This technique is also used in propaganda.


3. Negation - the manipulator refuses to admit that he or she did something wrong.


4. Rationalization - the manipulator justifies its inappropriate behavior . Rationalization closely related to "Spin" - a form of propaganda or PR .


5. Minimization - a kind of denial combined with rationalization. The manipulator claims that his or her behavior is not as harmful or irresponsible as someone else believes, for example, by stating that mockery or insult were just a joke.


6. Selective inattention or selective attention - the manipulator refuses to pay attention to anything that could upset his plans, stating something like "I don't want to hear this."


7. Abstraction - the manipulator does not give direct answer on direct question and instead takes the conversation to another topic .


8. Excuse - similar to distraction, but with the provision of irrelevant, incoherent, unclear answers using vague expressions.


9. Disguised intimidation - the manipulator forces the victim to play the role of the defending party using veiled (subtle, indirect or implied) threats .


10. False guilt - a special kind of intimidation tactics. The manipulator hints to the bona fide victim that she is not attentive enough, too selfish or frivolous. This usually results in the victim begins to experience negative feelings, falls into a state of insecurity, anxiety or submission.


11. Shaming - manipulator uses sarcasm and offensive attacks to increase the victim's fear and self-doubt. Manipulators use this tactic to make others feel insignificant and therefore submit to them. Shaming tactics can be very subtle, such as a harsh expression or gaze, an unpleasant tone of voice, rhetorical comments, or subtle sarcasm. Manipulators can make people feel ashamed even for the audacity to challenge their actions. This is an effective way to cultivate feeling. inadequacy in the victim.


12. Condemnation of the victim - Compared to any other tactic, this is the most powerful means of forcing the victim to be the defending side, while masking the aggressive intent of the manipulator.


13. Playing the role of the victim ("I'm unhappy") - the manipulator portrays himself as a victim of circumstances or someone's behavior in order to achieve pity, sympathy or compassion and thus achieve the desired goal. Caring and conscientious people cannot help but sympathize with the suffering of others, and the manipulator can often easily play on empathy in order to achieve cooperation.


14. Playing the role of a servant - the manipulator hides selfish intentions under the guise of serving a more noble cause, for example, claiming that he is acting in a certain way because of “obedience” and “service” to God or a similar authority figure.


15. Seduction - the manipulator uses charm, praise, flattery, or openly supports the victim in order to reduce his resistance and earn trust and loyalty.


16. Projecting guilt (blaming others) - the manipulator makes the victim a scapegoat, often in a subtle, difficult-to-detect manner.


17. Feigning innocence - the manipulator tries to suggest that any harm done to him was unintentional, or that he did not do what he is accused of. The manipulator can take on the appearance of surprise or resentment. This tactic causes the victim to question their own judgment and possibly their prudence.


18. Simulating confusion - the manipulator tries to pretend to be a fool, pretending that he does not know what he is being told or that he has confused important question to which his attention is drawn.


19. Aggressive anger - The manipulator uses anger to achieve emotional intensity and rage in order to shock the victim and force them to obey. The manipulator does not really feel anger, it is only acting out a scene. He wants what he wants and gets "angry" when he doesn't get what he wants.

Depending on the emotions that appear at the manipulation object, you can select forms of manipulation:

positive forms:

• intercession,


• reassurance,


• compliment,


• non-verbal flirting (hugging, winking),


• good news,


• common interests…

negative forms:

• destructive criticism (ridicule, criticism of personality and actions),


• destructive statement (negative biographical facts, hints and references to past mistakes),


• destructive advice (advice on changing position, behavior, peremptory orders and instructions) ...

Vulnerabilities exploited by manipulators

Manipulators usually spend a considerable amount of time studying features and vulnerabilities your victim.

According to Harriet Breaker (Harriet B. Braiker ), manipulators exploit the following vulnerabilities (" buttons ") That may exist in victims:

• passion for pleasure;


• a tendency to gain the approval and recognition of others;


• emotophobia (Emotophobia) - fear of negative emotions;


• lack of independence (assertiveness) and the ability to say "no";


• unclear identity (with vague personal boundaries);


• low self-confidence;


• external locus of control.

Vulnerabilities according to Simon :

• naivety - it is too difficult for the victim to accept the idea that some people are cunning, dishonest and ruthless, or they deny that they are being persecuted,


• superconsciousness - the victim is too willing to give the manipulator the benefit of the doubt and takes his side, that is, the point of view of the victim,


• low self-confidence - the victim is not self-confident, she lacks conviction and perseverance, she too easily finds herself in the position of the defending side.


• excessive intellectualization - the victim is trying too hard to understand the manipulator and believes that he has some understandable reason to harm.


• emotional addiction - the victim has a subordinate or dependent personality. The more emotionally dependent a victim is, the more vulnerable they are to exploitation and control.

According to Martin Cantor (Martin kantor ), following people vulnerable to psychopathic manipulators:

• too gullible - honest people often assume that everyone else is honest. They confide in people they barely know, without checking documents, etc. They rarely turn to so-called experts;


• too altruistic - the opposite of psychopathic; too honest, too fair, too empathetic;


• too impressionable - overly amenable to someone else's charm;


• too naive - who cannot believe that there are dishonest people in the world, or who believe that if there are such people, they would not be allowed to act;


• too masochistic - Lack of self-esteem and subconscious fear allow them to be used to their advantage. They think they deserve it out of guilt;


• too narcissistic - prone to falling in love with undeserved flattery;


• too greedy - the greedy and dishonest can fall prey to a psychopath who can easily seduce them to act in an immoral way;


• too immature - have inadequate judgments and overly trust in exaggerated advertising promises;


• too materialistic - easy prey for moneylenders and get-rich-quick schemes;


• too dependent - need someone else's love and therefore are gullible and inclined to say "yes" when they should answer "no";


• too lonely - can accept any offer of human contact. The stranger psychopath can offer friendships for a price;


• too impulsive - make hasty decisions, such as what to buy or who to marry, without consulting other people;


• too economical - they cannot reject the deal, even if they know the reason why the offer is so cheap;


• elderly - may be fatigued and less capable of performing many tasks at the same time. Hearing an ad offer, they are less likely to suspect fraudulent activity. Seniors are more likely to finance unlucky people.

Consciousness manipulation methodsused in funds mass media, quite a few, but most often the following stand out:

1. Using suggestion.


2. Transfer of a particular fact into the general sphere, into the system.


3. The use of rumors, conjectures, interpretations in an unclear political or social situation.


4. A method called "corpses needed."


5. The "horror stories" method.


6. Silence of some facts and protrusion of others.


7. Fragmentation method.


8. Multiple repetitions or " Goebbels method ».


9. The method of absolute lies. The more monstrous the lie, the easier it is to believe in it ( Goebbels ).


10. Creation of false events, hoax.


11. Substitution of facts with beautiful slogans. For example, " Freedom equality Brotherhood ».


12. Dissonance method: promoting alternative facts, values ​​and perceptions that destroy the common symbols and values ​​of the target group (the concept of the molecular revolution A. Gramsci ).

Manipulation is oppression of the individual, while, since a person wants to believe in what he wants to acquire (knowledge, experience, material wealth, psychological comfort), oppression can be achieved through the "lie that they want to believe."

In the XX century, the range of phenomena to which the term "manipulation" began to be applied with the political content of the original definition (in tech., medits.: "The handling of objects with a special intent, a special purpose, like manual control") has expanded. “It began to be used in relation to the media and political events aimed at programming the opinions or aspirations of the masses, the mental state of the population, etc. The ultimate goal of such efforts is control over the population, its manageability and obedience”: 44.45.

Accordingly, the understanding of the term "manipulation" in psychological literature... In addition to the two previously known values ​​(the first is borrowed from technology and is used engineering psychology and work psychology; the second is from ethology, where manipulation opposed locomotion), since 1960. psychologists begin to use it - as part of the analysis interpersonal relationships- and in the third meaning, from the context of political science works.

On the other hand, researchers argue that there are deep archetypal structures in the mass consciousness that contribute to the rejection of manipulative schemes and the regeneration of mass consciousness, which significantly limits the impact of manipulations (Colin Yu., 1997).

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Classification of interpretations of the concept of "manipulation" (polit.)

Despite the rather long experience of using the concept of "manipulation", Russian and foreign authors demonstrate a certain spread in the understanding of this term in a political science context. In the monograph of the doctor of psychological sciences, professor and head of the department of general and social psychology Tyumen State University E. L. Dotsenko "Manipulation: Phenomenon, Mechanism, Defense" analyzed 12 author's contexts.

Representations of various authors about the concept of "manipulation"(polit.)

№	Authors	Definitions
1	B. N. Bessonov	A form of spiritual influence, hidden domination, carried out by force
2	D. A. Volkogonov	Dominance over the spiritual state, management of changes in the inner world
3	R. Goodin	Covert use of power (force) contrary to the alleged will of another
4	O. T. Yokoyama	Deceiving indirect influence in the interests of manipulators
5	L. Proto	Hidden influence on making choices
6	W. Ricoeur	A way to structure the world to win
7	J. Rudinov	Initiating behavior by deceiving or playing on the perceived weakness of another
8	V.N.Sagatovsky	Treating the other as a means, object, tool
9	G. Schiller	Latent compulsion, programming thoughts, intentions, feelings, attitudes, attitudes, behavior
10	E. Shostrom	Management and control, exploitation of another, use as objects, things
11	P. W. Robinson	Master control or use
12	V. S. Korolev	Suggestion of the desired mass

On this basis, E. Dotsenko identifies 18 typical features used by each author to determine manipulation (not shown here). At the time of writing this scientific work, the now famous work of S.G. Kara-Murza had not yet seen the light, and therefore it did not get into the systematization of E. Dotsenko.

Manipulation of consciousness when perceiving at the individual level

Signs of mind manipulation

• A type of spiritual, psychological impact, a form of latent psychological violence (and not physical violence or threat of violence). The target of the manipulator's actions is the psyche of the human personality, its image of the world, common values, ideas, beliefs, stereotypes and attitudes of the target audience.
• Latent influence, the fact of which should not be noticed by the object of manipulation. As one of the leading experts in the American media, Professor of the University of California G. Schiller notes: “To be successful, manipulation must remain invisible. The success of manipulation is guaranteed when the manipulated person believes that everything that happens is natural and inevitable, and the very fact of manipulation is not reflected in the subject's memory. In short, manipulation requires a false reality in which its presence will not be felt. " Often this false reality is created by the media. They serve as information filters, form the agenda, and act as a relay of authoritative opinions that are absorbed by people and then perceived by them as their own. The main goal is especially carefully hidden - so that even the disclosure of the very fact of an attempt at manipulation does not lead to the clarification of distant intentions.
• An exposure that requires significant skill and knowledge. Since the manipulation of public consciousness has become a technology, professional workers have appeared who own this technology (or parts of it).
• People whose consciousness is being manipulated are not treated as individuals, but as objects, special kinds of things, deprived of freedom of choice. Manipulation is part of the technology of power, not influencing the behavior of a friend or partner.

The manipulator for crowd control uses its social, religious, cultural, ethnic and gender preferences and beliefs, which serve as the basis for the general self-identification of the group. A necessary condition for manipulation is the presence enemy image organizing the crowd as a whole. The legendary cry of the crowd: "Crucify Him!" - serves as the oldest evidence of the formation of a controlled crowd based on religious attitudes and bright image enemy.

The formation of a controlled crowd through a series of manipulations is becoming a key tool in the process of legitimizing and delegitimizing power institutions in the modern world.

• Manipulation is based on replacing the true causes of events with imaginary ones, disorienting the object in the direction necessary for the manipulator. This task can be accomplished both with the help of the media and on the basis of informal information channels.

The theoretical foundation of manipulative techniques has a long history and is based on the ancient Greek concept stratagem as a military ruse, a ploy designed to mislead the enemy and achieve victory without resorting to battle. This concept was used by the ancient Greek historians Herodotus and Xenophon (treatise About cavalry command), as well as the ancient Roman author Sextus Frontinus ( Stratagems). The Chinese treatise Thirty-six stratagems, despite its almost two thousand years of history, remains a classic collection of manipulative techniques. Currently, the theoretical basis for manipulative technologies is the theory of dissipative structures and the theory of chaos on which, in particular, the models of manipulating civil society are based in order to transform and delegitimize state and public institutions.

The core of manipulation: a hidden message, a command to an object, designed to change its behavior, is, first of all, a high-quality intellectual product designed to bypass protective psychological barriers, integrate into the system (Mimicry), gaining control over its activities in a given segment. An analogy here is the activity of the virus in the cellular organism.

The manipulation algorithm includes several main stages: 1) Analysis of the cultural and psychological characteristics of the target audience or key informant, drawing up the cultural and psychological portrait target audience. Various polls, focus groups and in-depth interviews with representatives of target groups are used, with the participation of analysts and military psychologists. 2) Construction in the media of a virtual picture of a given event, compatible with the psychological attitudes and worldview of the target audience and bringing it to the desired model of behavior within the framework of the manipulation target. Today, the virtual picture is formed using advanced computer technologies and the achievements of cinematography, which, as the researchers note (Baudrillard, 1991), makes it more real and vivid in the mass perception than the true reality. 3) Planning a real event that has a symbolic meaning and an employee trigger mechanism, forcing the target audience to believe in the reality of a virtual picture set from outside and to act in accordance with it. 4) Control over the media: information filter management designed to synchronize information flows in the media and consolidate the positive results of manipulation. An important element of manipulation is the planning of distractions and shock events for disconnections the ability to think critically, increase the level of suggestibility of the target audience, turn it into a crowd led by herd instinct and controlled from the outside.

If the main goal of a classic war is the physical destruction of the enemy, then the goal of the information war, waged by means of various manipulative technologies, is the destruction of the enemy in the spiritual aspect by destroying his values, as well as the semantic context in which these values ​​are rooted. A necessary element here is the manipulation of historical memory: the devaluation in the mass consciousness of historical events that have symbolic meaning and unite people into a socio-cultural community. One example of this is attempts to devalue the significance of the USSR's victory in World War II. Researchers reveal a significant range of manipulations of historical memory in modern media (Volodikhin, D., Eliseeva, O., Oleinikov, D. History of Russia in small peas, 1998. - 256 p.).

• Forcing the object to admit the inferiority and inferiority of their own values ​​and ideas against the background of the indicative brightness and attractiveness of the enemy's values ​​is the goal of the manipulative program.

Prerequisites for manipulation

The condition for successful manipulation lies in the fact that in the overwhelming majority of cases, the overwhelming majority of citizens serve as a passive object of informational influence: they spend neither mental and mental strength, nor time to question the media reports. A purposeful change in public sentiment creates a field of opportunities (Overton Window) for the implementation of a manipulative program. For example, Rust's flight would not have had such an effect without a prepared social ground through a consistent media campaign to discredit the Soviet Army.

Any manipulation of consciousness is interaction. A person can become a victim of manipulation only if he acts as a co-author, an accomplice. Manipulation is not only latent psychological abuse, but also seduction. An important role here is played by the use of opinion leaders who influence the formation of opinions within their group. The basic model here is Lazarsfeld's theory of multistage information dissemination (Lazarsfeld, 2004). On the basis of this model, mobilization campaigns are carried out in social networks, which serve as one of the main elements of informational influence on the mass consciousness. An accurate calculation of the topic and the choice of key informants lead to the fact that the information campaign goes into an autocoherent mode with a wave-like expansion of the mass audience. Depending on the emotions that appear in the object of manipulation, the following forms of manipulation can be distinguished:

• positive forms:
  • intercession,
  • reassurance,
  • compliment,
  • non-verbal flirting (hugging, winking),
  • good news,
  • common interests…
• negative forms:
  • destructive criticism (ridicule, criticism of personality and actions),
  • destructive statement (negative biographical facts, hints and references to past mistakes),
  • destructive advice (advice on changing position, behavior, peremptory orders and instructions) ...

The target of the manipulator

The goal of those who wish to manipulate consciousness is to give objects such signs so that, by embedding these signs into the context, they change the image of this context in their perception, transform their image of the world in a direction given from the outside. The object of manipulation is prompted such connections of its text or action with reality, their interpretation is imposed so that the idea of ​​reality is distorted in the direction desired by the manipulator. This means that it will have an impact on behavior, and the objects will be sure that they are acting in full accordance with their own desires.

The purpose of the manipulator is to deprive the object of freedom of choice: the ability to think critically and make rational choices, softly leading to a choice given from the outside as the only possible, supposedly no alternative for the object. This choice is not free and unconscious, which makes possible external control of the behavior of the object against its will. Basic principle: A situation that is perceived as real is real in its consequences(Thomas, 1928). Any chimera, deliberately created an illusion becomes a guide to action, if made to believe in it.

Counteracting psychological manipulation

One of the forms of countering manipulation is a critical analysis of incoming information, the organization of obtaining information from various sources.

Ways to counter manipulation in the media:

• Analysis of conflicting sources (on both sides), identification of common and diverging information.
• Obtaining first-hand information, communicating with representatives of the groups involved in the situation.
• Identification of manipulators and analysis of the point of view promoted by them.
• Analysis of the relationship of various groups in social networks and other public sources.

Ways to counter direct manipulation:

Identifying manipulators

Large-scale automated analysis of social comments makes it easy to identify cyber manipulators (information troops). There are a number of signs of such manipulators, for example, a huge number of comments left in different places, united by a common idea or aimed at one goal (incitement to conflict). Tracking these commentators allows you to see the ongoing action and its approximate purpose.

Manipulation methods

There are quite a few methods of manipulating consciousness used in the media, but most often the following are distinguished:

Sources of

1. Kara-Murza S.G. Consciousness manipulation. - M .: Algorithm, 2004 .-- 528 p .; M .: Eksmo, 2005 .-- 832 p. ISBN 5-699-08331-6
2. Dotsenko E. L. Psychology of manipulation: phenomena, mechanisms and protection. - 3rd. - M.: Rech, 2003 .-- 304 p. - ISBN 5-09-002630-0.
3. E. L. Dotsenko continues: "The name of the Italian politician Niccolo Machiavelli became a household name to denote the moral position" the end justifies any means "... But for the medieval reader it was in the order of things ..." - the title. book, p. 44.
4. A Brief Psychological Dictionary
5. Mamardashvili M.K. (On the need for irrational expressions), Moscow, 1990.
6. Colin. Yu. V. Involuntary image of the world and collective consciousness. Dissertation for the degree of candidate of philosophical sciences. Rostov-on-Don, 1997.
7. Dotsenko Evgeniy Leonidovich // Official site of the Faculty of Psychology of Tyumen State University
8. Source name and table on Sat. "Control of consciousness and methods of suppression of personality." - Minsk: Harvest, 2002. ISBN 985-13-0356-9
9. Military tricks: 36 Chinese stratagems - Igor Gerasimov
10. "Sharp, Gene" From Dictatorship to Democracy: A Conceptual Framework to Liberation, Boston, 1994
11. The Gulf War Did Not Take Place - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
12. Popular jubilation in Tripoli filmed in Qatar
13. Scientific concept
14. S.G.Kara-Murza "Manipulation of consciousness"

see also

• Mind Control Devices

"through the media.

1. Distraction

The main element of social management is to divert people's attention from important problems and decisions made by political and economic ruling circles through the constant saturation of the information space with insignificant messages. Distraction is essential to prevent citizens from gaining important knowledge in science, economics, psychology, neurobiology, and cybernetics.
"Constantly distract the attention of citizens from the real social problems, switching it to topics that have no real meaning. Ensure that citizens are constantly busy with something and they do not have time to think; from the field - into the corral, like all other animals (quote from the book "Silent weapon for quiet wars").

2. Create problems and then suggest solutions

This method is also called problem-response-solution. A problem is being created, a kind of "situation" calculated to evoke a certain reaction among the population so that it itself requires the adoption of the measures that are necessary ruling circles... For example, allow urban violence to spiral or organize bloody attacks to get citizens to demand stronger security laws and policies that infringe on civil liberties.
Or: call economic crisis to make the violation of social rights and the curtailment of the work of city services to be accepted as a necessary evil.

3. Method of gradual application

To get an unpopular measure taken, it is enough to implement it gradually, day after day, year after year. This is how fundamentally new socio-economic conditions (neoliberalism) were imposed in the 80s and 90s of the last century.
Minimizing the functions of the state, privatization, uncertainty, instability, mass unemployment, wage which no longer provides a decent life... If all this happened at the same time, it would surely lead to a revolution.

4. Postponement of execution

Another way to push through an unpopular decision is to present it as "painful and necessary" and to get the citizens' consent at the moment to implement it in the future. It is much easier to agree to any sacrifices in the future than in the present.

First, because it won't happen immediately. Secondly, because the people in their mass are always inclined to cherish naive hopes that "tomorrow everything will change for the better" and that the sacrifices demanded of them will be avoided. This gives citizens more time to get used to the idea of ​​change and humbly accept it when the time comes.

5. Treat people like little children

Most propaganda speeches aimed at the general public use arguments, characters, words and intonation as if they were children. school age with developmental delays or mentally disabled individuals.
The more intensely someone tries to mislead the listener, the more he tries to use infantile speech turns. Why? "If someone addresses a person as if he were 12 or less years, then due to suggestibility, in response or reaction of this person, with a certain degree of probability, there will also be no critical assessment, which is typical for children aged 12 or less.

6. Emphasize emotion rather than reflection

Influencing emotions is a classic technique aimed at blocking the ability of people to rational analysis, and ultimately to the ability to critically reflect on what is happening. On the other hand, the use of the emotional factor allows you to open the door to the subconscious in order to introduce thoughts, desires, fears, fears, compulsions or stable patterns of behavior there ...

7. Keeping people ignorant by cultivating mediocrity

Ensure that people become unable to understand the techniques and methods used in order to control and subordinate them to their will. “The quality of education provided to the lower social classes should be as meager and mediocre as possible so that the ignorance that separates the lower social classes from the upper classes remains at a level that the lower classes cannot overcome.

8. Encourage citizens to admire mediocrity

To instill in the population the idea that it is fashionable to be stupid, vulgar and ill-mannered ...

9. Increase feelings of self-guilt

Make a person believe that he alone is to blame for his own misfortunes, which occur due to his lack of mental capabilities, abilities or efforts. As a result, instead of rebelling against the economic system, a person begins to engage in self-deprecation, blaming himself for everything, which causes a depression, leading, among other things, to inaction. And without action, there can be no talk of any revolution!

10. Know more about people than they know about themselves

Over the past 50 years, advances in the development of science have led to the formation of an ever widening gap between knowledge. ordinary people and the information possessed and used by the ruling classes.
Thanks to biology, neurobiology and applied psychology, the "system" received at its disposal advanced knowledge about a person, both in the field of physiology and psyche. The system managed to learn more about an ordinary person than he knows about himself. This means that in most cases the system has more power and more control over people than themselves.

Noam Chomsky - American linguist, philosopher, public figure, book author and political analyst. Distinguished Professor of Linguistics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and one of the prominent scientists of the 20th century. His fundamental works in the field of the theory of linguistics and the science of knowledge have received well-deserved recognition in the scientific and teaching community.

Manipulation of mass consciousness. Deception of humanity.

5 (100%) 1 vote

Cheating number 1. Science is making progress.

In the modern world, science has become the foundation of the worldview of most people. "The same worldview" is being widely adopted. This has led to the fact that science is similar to the analogue of religions and ideologies, having an even more global scope. All the peoples of our planet are under its influence. Already at school, children are taught dogmas that are not true.

For manipulation, it is important that the imposed worldview is absolutely the same for everyone. And whether it is false or true is not important. The main thing is to achieve the goal of management by any means.

Therefore, we are constantly exposed to the suggestion that science is progressing, and we are enjoying the fruits of this "progress": computers, mobile phones, gps-navigators ...

And for some reason we are not told that everything this is the result of technological breakthroughs,to which new theories are very quickly adjusted. And the correct physical picture of the world has nothing to do with it. Only a part of such breakthroughs have a technological chronicle, in other cases it is absent (for example: microelectronics).

The researchers argue that this is evidence of the existence of similar technologies before their discovery. that is, someone already owned them and passed them on to people.

We all understand the life threat posed by current technology to our planet. One can give an example of nuclear power plants, which are considered to be the boon of alternative energy. Global catastrophes on them, which shook the world, can cause the destruction of all life on earth. One such "smoldering bomb" (as experts call them), under a certain set of circumstances, is capable of blowing up the entire planet.

They cannot leave indifferent the consequences of explosions at such power plants: horrific tragedies and their insurmountable consequences (tons of radioactive earth, thousands of tons of radioactive water, radiation leaks into the ocean, etc.).

Cheating # 2. Medicine is making progress

Modern medicine has made strides in emergency traumatology. But it is aimed at making money, and this despite its purpose - the treatment of people. And the main goal is to increase the number of patients. Many people are crippled before birth. Many children in the womb are being killed, there is no such cruelty even in the animal kingdom. Modern medicine considers it the norm to produce raw materials from them, which are used in expensive cosmetics. It is very common for babies to be crippled at birth by improper medical practices.

The next stage is vaccination. This is followed by treatment with poisons, bearing the harmless, hopeful name of "medicine." Now it has become a world practice that diseases (viruses) are removed artificially. Such viruses can be used as a weapon and as a way to make money selling drugs (previously developed for this).

For the multiplication of sick people, all other means of treatment that contradict universal medical purpose of our time, namely: to knock out the pockets of patients.

A person is not viewed as a whole, but exclusively as a body, a biological carrier. And there is not even a hint of our "spirituality". So how can you be cured with such a limited outlook?

Cheating number 3. Modern economy - natural stage development of society

The governments of the countries are just an analogue of invisible firms and perform the function of covering up real management objects - centers, the instrument of management of which has become the printing press and interest on loans.

Cheating number 4. The planet is threatened by overpopulation, resource depletion and hunger

The real state of affairs is masterfully hidden. The fact that destruction and harm are caused by fanatics of religion who live according to the philosophy of world domination, usurers who consider themselves the owners of money, politicians and financiers who cultivate in their minds the primacy of power and money and others like them.

It has been scientifically proven that if you develop and use environmentally friendly technologies correctly and harmoniously, you will not experience hunger yet more people than lives on our planet now.

some facts:

- 41% of foodstuffs that are produced in the country are taken out to landfills in the United States. With this amount of food, more than half of the inhabitants of Africa can be fed.

- US farmers receive subsidies for not exceeding production limits.

- on a global scale, a third of the food is thrown away. Something that was produced, but not used. This is UN data.

Such seeds of GMO - lines cannot exist without pesticides, the sale of the latter helps to fill the pocket tighter. The "earnings" in this area also include obtaining patent payments.

Other plants growing nearby also become infected with GMO (pollination). And litigation by the owners of GMO plants, who discovered their patented mutant in a neighboring vegetable garden, is not excluded. Even if you want to get rid of genetically modified crops on your site, you need to wait more three years, the soil will not be cleared in a shorter period.

Russia is now a potential world leader in organic farming... Our country has the opportunity to act as a monopolist in the production of food products that are natural. We have endless hectares of land that is not affected by chemistry and, in the majority, does not know GMO. You can arrange the supply of natural products in European countries, China.

This is the possibility of creating an inexhaustible source of foreign exchange earnings in comparison with depleted oil and gas reserves.

Deception # 5. Traditional history. Manipulation of mass consciousness.

Our recent history perfectly illustrates the level of human civilization before it was infected; and how through global cataclysms and cruel methods the destruction of this incredible grandeur and splendor took place. Hiding such information has become an effective way to manage the masses.

Nowadays, everyone who wishes through communications can receive data in such areas as high tech, planetary cataclysms, ancient civilizations, which refutes the official story, which is "sewn with white threads."

There are many well-argued rebuttals of historical myths called "traditional history" that are based on independent research. This is the Tatar-Mongol yoke, the spread of civilization from an African ancestor, and the calendar according to which now there should be 7524 years from the creation of the world instead of 2015. , and much more.

People who are not interested financially are engaged in the collection and analytical processing of information, primary sources and artifacts. They make blog posts, forums. And someday information that contradicts the official dogma is qualitatively transformed.

Cheating number 6. Humanity is lonely in the universe

Our planet and the people living on it are not unique. The universe contains many civilizations, some of which are just beginning their development, others are not yet born, and still others are on high level development.

The "uniqueness" of humanity has become a myth, implanted through religious and scientific teachings. Data on contacts with such civilizations were ridiculed and carefully concealed.

Deception # 7. Despite the shortcomings, humanity is developing in the right direction

Most people subconsciously understand that injustice and cruelty are very common on our planet, and this is not normal, it should be different. People need to overcome their limitations and stupidity, developing honesty and justice in their actions, then deceitful and shameless actions will cease to be and seem beneficial.

After all, it is at least strange that science has been marking time in one place for many years, industrially poisoning the land and all its inhabitants with various toxic substances, and in agriculture, a course has been taken for food that destroys health and brings harm.

A poisoned society provides each person with a choice of actions in each specific situation. How can he navigate? In this case, the individual is addressed by his conscience - the signal of the system of essence.

Its analogue is an operational sound signal or illuminated banners in dangerous situations, which have the cockpit of the pilot of passenger airliners. What happens if pilots ignore alarms?

The same happens with people: if you ignore your conscience and follow the logic of a sick society, then, as a material manifestation, diseases arise, people feel unlucky, and the entity completely discards this body. At the same time, there is an accumulation of negative "baggage", which hinders development in new incarnations.

Thus, people at any time can turn to their conscience for the right decision, in analogy with a pilot who regularly checks instruments to completely eliminate tragic consequences.

There is a unique and undeniable guide to choose correct model behavior is our conscience. Without a doubt, as long as we live, she is with us. You just need to learn to hear it.

Manipulation of mass consciousness. Deception number 8 ...

place # 8 is still vacant. We did this in order for you to reflect on the above. Maybe someone will refute the listed deceptions ... or else they will agree with the existence of such and will formulate the most important tenth deception of our gloomy rating himself.

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

All of the above deceptions make you wonder: is there any protection against such global delusions, or we cannot in any way change our attitude to what is happening around us and its influence on us?

For an adequate perception of the reality around us, it is necessary to study the facts of the modern scientific paradigm, and not blindly believe the media and other unverified sources, take into account the alternative opinion of honest scientists, inventors, researchers.

It is very important to abandon the view of ecology as a separate science and start living in harmony with nature. Everything should become environmentally friendly: politics, economics, science, education, everyone's personal life.

Do not shift the responsibility for your health to “people in white coats”, because in the existing system we will not even get an apology for medical errors, which are sometimes terrifying. It is much more effective to lead a healthy lifestyle, to use alternative means treatment and folk methods... Of course, not forgetting about sanity.

Ask yourself, what is the main purpose of your life? Are you going against the voice of your conscience by raising money to support your family? Let us value our unique human essence more than momentary material goods, and realize the true cost of our wrong deeds and “inverted” thinking. After all, then we evolutionarily descend down both in this and in future incarnations. And we will inevitably return again and again to the infected society, dragging a tangle of unresolved problems with us.

It is wiser to strive for nobility, generosity and honesty. You cannot instill in children the best qualities if we ourselves deceive and sell our souls.

Only after changing yourself can you instill qualities in your children. Only personal example, not empty words. Only in this case we have a chance to educate those who after us will transform our imperfect world!

Revealing and analyzing, using specific examples, the modern internal Russian crypto-liberal (half-hidden and hidden, along with open) and, in general, anti-state (anti-Russian) discourse in the media (television, radio, print media, Internet publications) allows us to identify the whole system. We are talking about new technologies and methodology of a hidden information war waged against the Russian state and society, and the manipulation of consciousness.An analytical reconstruction of the reasons why the opponents of Russian sovereignty choose certain specific methods of informational influence, the generation of methods of propaganda counteraction on the part of Russia to the designated challenges are important.

Features of information wars

Under information war, it is customary to understand a set of measures for informational influence on the consciousness of a large number of people to change their behavior, perception of the world and imposing mental models that are beneficial to the enemy, in a defensive aspect - the fight against the implementation of informational influence by the enemy for his purposes, as well as protection from such influence. Information war is taking place in the most different areas life of society and the state - politics, economy, culture, religion, science, etc. Moreover, the post-industrial era is characterized by integration different areas conducting an information war into a single semantic and goal-oriented network. Thus, information warfare is becoming an integral part of the relatively new concept of network wars.

The informational impact on the enemy has a number of features that distinguish it both from other forms of struggle and from communications in the field of information exchange. Let's consider the main of these features. In contrast to interpersonal manipulations of consciousness, the object of influence in an information war is the mass consciousness of the enemy, taking into account the collective characteristics of large groups of people who are objects of influence, as well as the specific features of human consciousness. A narrow targeted negative informational impact on an individual or an insignificant circle of people is not an information war. In contrast to the usual informational influence, in the course of an information war, the object of influence is imposed on goals alien to it, the desire to achieve which, as a result, is detrimental to itself.

The facts are distorted or presented in such a light so that it causes the enemy's behavior inadequate to the real state of affairs, as well as the imposition of an emotional perception of facts that is beneficial to the influencing party.

Influence in the course of an information war, sensory (sense organs) does not differ from neutral or positive informational influence, just as a negative physical influence is instantly felt by its object and differs from neutral or positive, that is, the object of influence may not even guess that an information war is being waged against him. Due to the above peculiarities, information war is hardly amenable to any legal regulation (similar to the Hague law of war), the stages of its conduct, lull, etc. are not necessarily known to the object of influence, it can be carried out in any information situation - both with information noise and in an information vacuum.

Another manifestation of the sensory neutrality of information war is that threats, blackmail, etc. do not belong to its methods. Otherwise, the influencing party is revealed as an aggressor, and the main condition for winning the information war would be violated. The object of influence reproduces the illusion about the independence of decision-making, imposed on him, in reality, by the influencing party.

The concept of "information wars" is very close to the concept of "manipulation of public opinion" / "manipulation of mass consciousness", that is, suppression of the will of people and programming their behavior. Manipulation is always carried out secretly, the manipulated person does not know about his objectivity.

Signs of latent manipulation, among others, are emotionality, sensationalism and urgency, repetition, fragmentation of an integral factual picture, removal from context, “totalitarianism” (“reliable source”) of the source of messages, confusion of information and opinion, undercover authority, activation of stereotypes, etc.

The methods of manipulating mass consciousness include, in particular, the following:

• use of suggestion;
• transfer of a particular fact into the general sphere, into the system;
• the use of rumors, conjectures, interpretations in an unclear politicalor social situation;
• a method called "corpses needed";
• the method of "horror stories";
• hushing up some facts and protruding others;
• fragmentation method;
• "Goebbels method" (multiple repetitions);
• method of alternation on the conveyor "true, true, true, false, true";
• creation of false events, hoax.

All these methods are used in information wars, since in them, among other things, the manipulation of mass consciousness is actively carried out. However, manipulation of mass consciousness cannot be reduced to a particular case of information war.

Information war is precisely a war, that is, the violence of one subject of human history over another for the sake of achieving certain goals.

This is a more radical situation than the usual suppression by the ruling group of the population, for which manipulation of the mass consciousness is also used. War implies the presence of at least two subjects of history in one space-time continuum, fighting for the formation of the world according to their own patterns. In this sense, a full-fledged information war, in contrast to the usual military propaganda of the past, is possible only in the information age, it is a struggle of worldviews. Moreover, the worldview of the aggressor / active side in the war is manifested in the rational sphere, and the worldview of the victim / passive side may not be rationally conscious, formulated and may remain at the subconscious level, being a connecting link in the system of network wars, without understanding the essence of which it is impossible to understand the role and the meaning of information warfare.

The means of waging information wars include all means of transmitting information - mail, rumors, mass media, etc. Moreover, information wars have sharply intensified and acquired fundamental importance precisely with the introduction of universal literacy in more or less developed states and the emergence of the mass media.

In the field of the media, two main forms of information warfare can be distinguished - the informational impact on the enemy's consciousness and the implementation of information attacks on the enemy's media. Information attacks are carried out by sabotaging the enemy's communication systems, destroying television and radio towers, using the enemy's television and radio communications to transmit their own information, carrying out hacker attacks on the enemy's computer networks, etc. A number of these methods are quite applicable in peacetime. ...

Cyberwar and world information wars

A subspecies of information wars are the so-called. cyberwar (Cyberwars), i.e. confrontation in the virtual space using information technology methods. German experts include cyberwar methods:

• espionage - penetration into the enemy's computer system to obtain information;
• distortion - altering the content of a web page for propaganda purposes;
• attack with the aim of disabling the system - a group of computers simultaneously attacks the enemy's computer system so that the latter is out of order from too much information flow.

“The basics of 'network war',” Ralph Bendrath points out, “are more than anything removed from hitherto existing notions of war and peace. This model, in which it is no longer the enemy's body that is the object of a physical attack, but his will is directly changed by gaining information dominance, will ultimately lead to the fact that any form of ideological or political confrontation will be assessed as war. "

The importance of cyber wars is especially increasing due to the total computerization of the population and the widespread spread of the Internet.

The younger generation in developed countries and regions - in particular, in large Russian cities - has almost completely abandoned TV viewing due to the limited information channels of television compared to the Internet, as well as the inability to participate in the media process, which is provided by various forums, chats, comment strips for news bulletins and articles, social networks, etc. We can already talk about the digital generation.

The US government recently announced its intention to spread the "war of ideas" to popular websites, forums, chats and blogs in the Russian segment of the global network. This was stated by the US Deputy Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy James Glassman. We are talking about the State Department's Digital Outreach Team program, tested on Arabs, Afghans and Iranians.

As part of this program, specially trained people go to the foreign Internet, debunk myths about American politics there and "refer people to the correct documents."

“It's not a secret for anyone that recently the Internet has been widely used, among other things, for conducting ideological confrontation. Suffice it to recall the conflict in the Caucasus, when not only did they not want to understand the real state of affairs, but in some cases they misinterpreted objective facts, ”Vladimir Evseev, senior researcher at the Center for International Security of the IMEMO RAN, told the newspaper Vzglyad. It is quite obvious that the United States is resorting to such measures as a kind of element of political pressure. Most likely, the State Department is dark about "several employees": for such a large-scale and laborious work to be effective, it is necessary to attract a huge staff of highly qualified employees.

World information wars against Russia and information war in Russia

In contrast to the 90s. of the last century, when the liberal Westernizing discourse undividedly dominated in Russia and any appeals to the national identity of Russia, to the national interests different from the West, the geopolitical and civilizational-cultural subjectivity of our country were stigmatized as "red-brown" revenge and Black Hundreds, in the last nine years in Russian political and public life is more extensively represented by patriotic rhetoric. In this situation, active supporters of a pro-Western geopolitical and civilizational orientation are forced to look for new methods of promoting their ideas, disguising the liberal ideology as pseudo-patriotic concepts.

Considering the sad experience of a number of openly pro-Western mass media such as the former NTV and then TV-6, the sharply negative image of the Echo Moskvy radio station, the tense situation in relations with the West, the insignificant rating of liberal politicians, as well as the fact that the overwhelming majority of the Russian population freed from the political and mass-cultural illusions of the nineties and acquired immunity to overt and overt American propaganda, supporters of Americanism are trying to mimic a special kind of pragmatic patriots. Distanceing themselves from their openly pro-Western reputation and using a new image, they are trying to preserve and expand the networks of influence on the government and civil society.

It is often difficult to identify such techniques, requiring powerful ideological tools to recognize the infiltrations of the liberal paradigm.

A special obstacle to solving this problem is also the fact that ideological warfare in its soft version - and it is in this form that it is predominantly waged now inside Russia - often remains unnoticed by the objects of influence of anti-Russian propaganda. Any single statement, maxim, formula of mimicking liberalism seems, at first glance, a logical and pragmatic manifestation of concern for the welfare of the state and society, even if it is opposed to the specific actions of the authorities or the ideology of consistent supporters of Russian civilizational identity, but equally patriotic and nationally oriented ... But this happens only until we try to find this formula or this statement a classification place in an integral ideological system, where Russia and the Russian people are self-valuable civilizational, geopolitical, cultural, economic entities.

Thus, in the current Russian state of ideological chaos, when the state and influential institutions of civil society (with the exception, perhaps, of the Church) do not have a coherent ideological system, but there is only a Brownian movement of patriotic intentions and slogans, the infiltration of liberal ideology under the guise of pragmatic patriotism poses a special threat to the state and society. This is especially noticeable in connection with the fact that in the 1993 Constitution, the state ideology (the essence of the national idea) is expressly prohibited.

Information and psychological warfare on the Internet

After a sharp restriction of the pro-Western activities of the media on television, radio and in print media in the 2000s, associated with both objective (public discontent with liberal propaganda) and subjective (policies of the authorities at different levels) reasons, liberal propaganda has largely shifted in Runet. A number of factors contributed to this. The increasing spread of the Internet in Russia in recent years allows it to successfully compete with other - especially print - mass media. The democracy of the Internet, which allows widespread dissemination of information, regardless of the financial position of the customer and the contractor, the convenience of the spread of Internet media viruses, weak control and regulation of the Internet by government authorities - create an aura of free thinking and freethinking of the World Wide Web.

The situation of the late 1990s and early 2000s was largely mirrored, when almost all "classical" mass media were pro-Western, while radicalism of all stripes flourished on the Internet, already widely used by Russian users. - National Bolshevism, Russian ultranationalism, anarchism, Eurasianism, ultra-left, ultra-right ideologies, etc. the Westerners expelled from the official media sharply intensified their activities here.

Relative - as far as possible among the people, whose archetypes, civilizational attitudes and ethnopsychology are extremely far from European ones - pro-Western forces owe their popularity on the Internet to the following factors. The predominant use of the Internet by educated young people in large cities - students, high school students, office workers, sometimes traveling abroad and inclined to express their "own" opinions on a very different spectrum of issues. Total support for any policy of state power on television, which greatly spoils its image in the eyes of the population. The Internet dependence of the population, to a large extent, has ceased to use other sources of information, which, together with the ease and uncontrollability of the spread of any views, makes Runet the predominant sphere of pro-Western propaganda.

The analysis of campaigning activities on the Internet should be carried out taking into account the attendance of certain resources covering political topics. These include, first of all, blogs and information and analytical portals themselves. different types... Let's look at some examples.

Kavkaz-Center website

A striking example of information warfare on the Internet is the Kavkaz Center website. The purpose of this resource, of course, is to undermine stability in Russia. And this is achieved in two ways. On the one hand, the point of view is implanted among national minorities that they are oppressed, that Russia is a prison of nations. On the other hand, a belief is indirectly formed among Russians that the small peoples of Russia (especially the Caucasians) are a constant threat to the security of Russia and the Russians. Thus, mutual enmity between the state-forming ethnos and small peoples is being formed.

The priority of the "Kavkaz Center" activity is the manipulation of the mass consciousness of the peoples of the North Caucasus.

Moreover, not only the Ingush, Chechens and Dagestanis, but also such historically loyal Russian peoples as the Kabardians, Adygs, Karachai-Balkars and others, are the objects of propaganda influence. Considering the increased interest of small peoples in their history since the fall of the USSR and the complete deficit of state educational policy in this area, sites like Kavkaz Center fill an “educational” niche for Caucasian youth - of course, in an anti-Russian vein.

Radio Liberty

An example of waging an information war using the old methods, that is, in fact, not an information war, but ordinary anti-Russian propaganda, is the activities of Radio Free Europe - Radio Liberty (RFE-RL). The central office of the radio station is located today in Prague. However, in view of some deterioration in relations with the Czech leadership, the option of transferring the office to the capital of a more anti-Russian-oriented state, Latvia, is being considered.

RFE-RL broadcasts in 14 regions of Russia, in 38 cities. Radio Liberty was created for the ideological struggle against the USSR and exposure of the Soviet regime, that is, as an instrument of propaganda of the NATO bloc states against the socialist alliance. The Department of Internal Affairs and the USSR, as you know, have disintegrated, but NATO and RFE-RL still exist. Moreover, the nature of their activities and goals in relation to Russia have not undergone any significant changes. This is how the activities of this radio corporation should be assessed. Nevertheless, it is of interest to use the network principles of information influence by the radio station.

A. Mukhin in his book “Media Empire of Russia” characterizes the position of RFE-RL in the media space as follows: “The main areas of activity are discrediting Russian authorities and often Russian culture, informational support of more pro-American opponents of the existing regime and propaganda of Americanism. In addition, a significant form is the encouragement of separatist sentiments of non-Russian peoples. This fact, in particular, is confirmed by former employees of the national editorial offices of the corporation, who openly declare the enormous role of RFE-RL in awakening "national consciousness".

The following quote from A. Mukhin's work points to the mechanism of occupying the empty niche of national policy by the conductors of Western geopolitical interests: North Caucasus in Chechen, Avar, Circassian and Russian at the beginning of 2002.

One of the initiators of the decision to start "Caucasian" broadcasting was the famous "hawk", the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Jesse Helms, popular in intelligence circles. The project provoked a sharply negative reaction from both the Russian political leadership and the leadership of Chechnya - A. Kadyrov and S. Ilyasov, although the separatists and their supporters received the news with approval. According to the Washington Post, even the US State Department opposed this proposal, foreseeing possible foreign policy complications. Nevertheless, broadcasting began, and in Russia, President V. Putin announced the need to revise the terms of the agreements on RS, signed by Boris Yeltsin in 1991 " .

Examples of information warfare and "permitted" Russophobia

Despite the fact that in recent years most of the former liberal journalists have been retrained as “pragmatic patriots,” there remains a certain layer of media representatives waging an aggressive, open information war with the Russian government. Often, the content of their polemics is expressed in direct incitement of interethnic hatred, calls for the collapse of the Russian Federation, glorification of terrorists, open information support of hostile states - for example, Georgia during the Georgian-Russian war in South Ossetia, Ukraine - in "gas wars".

The question arises: what is the reason for such a critical, oppositional, on the verge of a foul information policy, for example, of one of the very famous radio stations? Of course, the militant Russo - and Russian phobia of its correspondents to a certain extent expands their audience among Russian listeners and Internet users, since what causes vivid emotions, albeit negative ones, in this case, simultaneously attracts (the phenomenon of shocking). However, it is obvious that such methods cannot change Russian public opinion to a more liberal and pro-Western one. On the contrary, the average Russian person, having listened to such journalists, will become an even greater supporter of state power and an enemy of the West. Consequently, non-Russian listeners are the target audience. Considering how often this radio station raises the national and religious issue, while criticizing the policy of the authorities, it becomes clear that it is the representatives of the national minorities of Russia who are the object of the information war waged by the radio station. First of all, this concerns residents and immigrants from such a traditionally problematic region as the Caucasus.

Valeria Novodvorskaya, in particular, on the air of August 29, 2008, stated the following: “We made him a terrorist. Destroying Chechnya for so many years in a row, we made the democrat Shamil Basayev a terrorist ... he acted as an absolute Westernizer, proposed to make the army according to the American model, choose the American model of development, computerize Chechnya, many others have slipped into religious positions. "

This phrase was said two days before the fourth anniversary of the terrorist attack in the Ossetian city of Beslan, which killed 329 people, including 159 children, and Shamil Basayev claimed responsibility for it.

Of course, the addressee of Valeria Novodvorskaya's statement was not the Russian audience, which cannot be convinced of anything with such methods, especially if we take into account the specific media image of Valeria Ilyinichna, but the North Caucasian audience. Given the extreme tension in Vainakh-Ossetian relations, the next mention of terrorist acts committed by ethnic Chechens against Ossetians is clearly intended to destabilize the situation in the republics. Moreover, the time was chosen especially well: on the one hand - the anniversary of the Beslan tragedy, on the other - it is urgent to destroy the positive potential that was recently created for the normalization of Chechen-Ossetian relations by the Chechen battalion "Vostok", which fought on its own in South Ossetia under the command of the disgraced Hero Of Russia Sulima Yamadaev.

Such statements (“he acted as an absolute Westernizer”, “seeing that the West did not defend Chechnya, he slipped, like many others slipped into religious positions”) will undoubtedly cause indignation in Ossetian society also because the West for Ossetians is something very negative, since it was he who helped Georgia prepare for the genocide of the Kudars (South Ossetians). At the same time, an appeal to the West is intended to influence the inhabitants of Ingushetia, neighboring Ossetia, where last months a very tense situation remains, terrorist attacks and murders of prominent public and political figures are regularly committed, and the opposition openly appeals to the Western world with a demand to "separate Ingushetia from Russia."

In Chechnya itself, of which Novodvorskaya mainly spoke, the social and ideological situation continues to be very tense. A significant part of young people have a sharply negative attitude towards Russia and are inclined towards opposition, which can be traced on the Chechen forums on the Internet - in particular, on the site vk.com. The departure of young Chechens to the mountains continues, the situation has sharply deteriorated after the murder in Moscow of the brother of the aforementioned Sulim Yamadayev Ruslan, who also has a Hero of Russia star. Considering the well-known family enmity between the Kadyrov and Yamadayev clans, this murder detonatingly destabilized the situation in the republic.

Thus, it becomes clear that Valeria Novodvorskaya is not addressing the Russians, but specifically to the Caucasians - Chechens, Ingush and Ossetians. Thus, her statements are called upon to add fuel to the fire of interethnic enmity in the Caucasus.

On the other hand, the next mention of the interethnic excesses of the past is also intended to restore the Russian population against the Chechens, provoke Russian nationalism and the Chechen-phobia that has not yet been overcome. This contributes to the escalation of tensions in ethnic Russian regions, where a more or less significant number of people from Chechnya live - in particular, in large cities the European part of Russia and in the Stavropol Territory.

One of the leading journalists of this radio station actually allowed herself in wartime to openly glorify the aggressor, declaring on the air of the radio station on August 16 (four days after the official termination of the military operation by the Russian side): “The Georgians attacked bravely ... Georgia had no option but to fight this South Ossetian Hezbollah ”.

In violation of all the norms of journalistic ethics, the journalist not only took the side of Russia's military enemy, but also gave an unconfirmed pretentious assessment of the events in the rhetoric of accusations of “atrocities of Russian imperialism”: “Here we will demolish Tskhinvali and say that only Georgians did it ... It turned out that Russian army cannot shoot aimed. It doesn't matter - we will demolish Georgian villages from the face of the earth, and we will make it clear that we will bomb Tbilisi…. This is such an absolutely terrorist tactic. Carpet bombing ". It should be noted that such coverage of events cannot be explained by the "oversight" of the editor-in-chief of the radio station or the personal opinion of specific journalists, which may not coincide with the opinion of the editorial board.

During the war, the radio station broadcast not only the "former" CIA employee, and now the head of the Carnegie Moscow Center Rose Gottemoeller, but also the representative of the highest government bodies of the hostile state - Vice Speaker of the Georgian Parliament Mikhail Machavariani.

Of course, this is impossible without the consent of the editor-in-chief. Interestingly, shortly after the interview with Machavariani, the host of that broadcast announced his departure abroad for a long time. The radio station journalists, in particular, sympathetically quoted the Georgian-French director Otar Ioseliani: “People are terrified, they feel completely unprotected, we know what the Russians are capable of, what they did in Afghanistan and Chechnya, they spare neither women nor children , they do not stop at anything, it is likely that the war for South Ossetia will entail other conflicts. "

Russian atrocities are presented as an axiom: "we know." Moreover, Ioseliani cannot know this, since from 1982 to 2006 he lived in France, and not, oddly enough, in Afghanistan or Chechnya.

There are also nothing unjustified personal insults to representatives of the country's leadership. “To me,” says the radio station’s presenter, “the Russian government now reminds me of an aging professor who cannot take an integral or a woman. And all the time he realizes his complexes by acting out on young boys, to whom he gives deuces. This most of all causes fears in the Russian authorities. She behaves like a notorious kid. And with this notorious kid you will not understand what he will throw out tomorrow. Today this kid threw out, and the war broke out in the Caucasus. " What "civilized" country can allow such radio propaganda at home?

Only a retaliatory active information war can be a countermeasure to an information war.

It is absolutely impossible to fight pro-Western propaganda by presenting logical arguments, since information war is a kind of "magic of the word in reverse", affecting the psyche to a greater extent than rational thinking. She seeks not so much to tarnish Russian history or culture - this is a secondary goal and by-effect- how much to “involve” Russian society in a special pro-Western liberal mythology, in which, as it has already happened, there is no place for the Russian state, or Russian culture, or, ideally, for the Russian people.It is impossible to achieve any responsibility for one's words in the sophistry of information warfare. This can be seen, in particular, in the examples given. Therefore, it is necessary to develop your own political, cultural, economic mythology.

A huge number of Western philosophers, political scientists, economists, and cultural figures are waging a continuous intellectual and spiritual struggle against liberalism and all the logic of the Western path of human development. The problem for Russia is that it does not use this lever. Today she is not ready for an information war and is a victim of information aggression.

In order to successfully wage any war, it is necessary, first of all, to clearly understand why it is being waged, what we are defending. Without an unambiguous, clear formulation of the principles of a world order different from the Western project, without our own national idea Russia will not be able to resist the West in an information war. The question is about information war in Russia, in principle about information wars in the world, about the very concept of "information war"!

Chapter "Information-psychological mechanism" of the monograph.