Features of political psychology in a digital society: Managing and defining disinformation

Abstract

Public opinion management is reflected in a balanced approach to the information policy of the country, where the rationalistic outlook of the community promotes the social, economic, and political development of the state values. The formation of an individual’s political consciousness is subject to the influence of the information space in which they live, and this poses the relevance of investigating the issue of managing and defining disinformation at the stage of rapid digitalisation of society. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to determine the specifics of the development of patterns of political behaviour and consciousness of an individual in the process of forming a public stance in the context of socio-psychological, informational, and political determinants. The basis of the theoretical and methodological approach in this study was a combination of qualitative methods of systematic analysis of the specifics of psychological factors shaping political views and community behaviour, as well as content analysis of countering disinformation at the current stage of development of society. Furthermore, several surveys were conducted regarding the views and perceptions of the population on information in the media space in the country. The article also presents data that reflect the issue of the psychological phenomenon of society, in particular political judgments, moods, needs and motives of people, which are the result of social and political relations and are realised in a certain political behaviour and actions of both an individual and society as a whole. This article discusses the issues of combating disinformation in the digital space of the state and ways to improve the information literacy of the population. The results of the research are of practical value for educational, social, and psychological organisations that have a direct impact on the formation of legal behaviour and a conscious attitude to information processes in the digital space.