Detection Of Disinformation In A Media Text (Structural And Pragma-Linguistic Approaches)

Abstract

The article deals with the analysis of disinformation in a media text. Disinformation is defined as information which promotes cognitive biases and cannot be critically evaluated by a recipient because it violates the Cooperative Principle maxims. After analysing media texts using the pragma-linguistic and structural approaches, it is concluded (1) misleading information is often located in rhythmically structured intervals of a media text; (2) disinformation is a statement or proposition that violates the maxims of quality, manner, relation, and quantity. Most frequently, the maxim of manner is violated. The rather general proposition allows for multiple, obscure, and ambiguous interpretations. The maxim of relation is violated when cited sources are not exactly relevant to the arguments stated in a media text but is used to manipulate recipients’ perception. The maxim of quality is often violated when media strives to share something sensational and post the unchecked information. Repetition in media texts is a matter of attracting abundance which violated the maxim of quantity. Repetition forms the symmetrical structure of a media text which facilitates perception and information from symmetrically structured intervals is easier to be remembered. The findings pose a challenge to the possibility of detection of disinformation. The study has a contribution to the existing knowledge in the area of pragmatics and structural linguistics.