Using media as weapons in hybrid war

Abstract

This article is a theoretical analysis and generalization of the views of scientists on various approaches to understanding hybrid warfare in modern society and determining the trends of its influence on public opinion. It has been proven that media use during such wars has a practical impact on public opinion and most often carries a manipulative nature (by agreement with the social customer). The purpose is to understand the specifics of modern media weapons and determine the trends of their influence on public opinion in conducting a hybrid war. General scientific and special sociological methods were used during the study. The article is based on general scientific methods: analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction, typology, modeling, extrapolation, operationalization, interpretation, abstraction, generalization, and synergy, as well as logical-historical, systemic, comparative, network, and structuralfunctional analysis. The analysis showed the comprehensive nature of the information space, where the modern Ukrainian society and the entire civilized world are located. The information space was aimed at a purely informational function today. In that case, it acts as an effective manipulative weapon on the part of power structures, which led to the emergence of the term “hybrid war”. It turned out that over time, society ceases to experience systemic information influence, which complicates the ability to protect against it. The article determines that media channels, as the latest type of weapons of mass destruction, occupy a key place in the conduct of a hybrid war. The newest media channels have become vital in conducting the hybrid war.