The phenomenon of the Z-Telegram in the coverage of events in Ukraine

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to identify and describe the phenomenon of Z-Telegram channels against the background of the general state of the information field with the theme of a special military operation. The subject of the study is the image of a politician or authority formed by Z-channels. The authors focus on the concept of Z-channels, the features of their content, as well as the factors of the appearance of these channels. The key features of the Z-channels were the concentration on combat operations, the assessment of the politician through the prism of combat operations and criticism of the command and authorities. The differences between Z-channels and traditional media are studied in detail. The prospects for the formation of political communities based on Z-channels are considered. The article analyzes the reasons for the popularity of Z-channels and their role in covering a special military operation. The article examines the influence of the personality of the author of the channel on the attitude towards the key actors of the special military operation. Special attention is paid to the differences in the subject of the channels. The method used was the method of content analysis of the collected material, which includes posts in these most famous Z-channels during the winter of 2022-2023. The scientific novelty of the research lies in the study of the phenomenon of Z-channels in the Telegram as an alternative to traditional media, as well as the consideration of Z-channels as a prototype for the formation of a new type of political opposition to the current political system. The results of the study, presented as conclusions, showed that Z-channels can form a common agenda independently of each other, while having similar views. So, all channels broadcast a negative image to the official representatives of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, and at the same time broadcast a moderately positive image to Prigozhin. This allows us to conclude that for a number of reasons discussed in the study, Z-channels on the Telegram social network can form and broadcast their own agenda, including one that differs from the official one, and also have a very large audience.