Linguistic aspect of information wars in mass media discourse

introduction

In recent years, the process of active informatization of society and globalization of the world information space has been observed in the world. Rene Descartes also contributed to the development of the modern concept of the philosophy of "information", who divided the world into extended things (res extensa) and conceivable things (res cogitans) ^{[10, p. 13]}. The theoretical basis of the two concepts was studied separately and did not need to be combined. However, it was with the advent of information technology that humanity began to create extended (material) things in order to manipulate things imaginable (immaterial). There was a process of rethinking the essence of information as part of an exclusively thought process. The reason why this philosophical concept of "combining the material and immaterial" is of particular importance in the framework of the disclosure of the concept of "information warfare" is that information warfare unites the process of forming a person's thought process through the impact of quite material things on him, for example, the Internet, advertising, mass media, social networks, television, etc. others .

The purpose of the article is to conceptualize the concept of "information war" in mass media discourse from the point of view of linguistics and linguosemiotics.

THEORETICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL CONCEPTS OF INFORMATION WARFARE AS A LINGUISTIC

AND AN INTERDISCIPLINARY PHENOMENON

In turn, one of the main tools of all of the above "material things" is language. So, for example, "the main task of the CDA is to identify examples of the mutual influence of language and social structure, as well as the conceptualization of language as a form of social practice. An important aspect is a critical view of social phenomena expressed by a political attitude, i.e. it includes a political and ideological component; it forms an interdisciplinary procedure" ^{[9, p. 237]}. In other words, the main material essence (manifestation) of information warfare should be considered any means of language used that constantly affect the human thought process. In general, the analysis of modern scientific ideas, one way or another related to the information society, allows us to formulate the concept of "information society" as follows: IO = information infrastructure + digital economy + new ICT competencies of the population, business and the state.

If we consider information warfare from a linguistic point of view, then this tool is language, and we can call the thought process psychological in another way. Back in the 4th century BC, Aristotle identified the main components of the human psyche — consciousness, will and human feelings. Over the course of history, the ways and methods of influencing information on the human psyche have changed, but the goal has remained unchanged — the impact on human consciousness in order to achieve certain goals.  

Despite the fact that information wars have always been present in a person's life, the modern term was borrowed from the English language.  For the first time, the English term “Information Warfare” was mentioned in the second half of the 20th century by physicist Thomas Ron in a report on the armed forces ^{[5, p. 2]}. After that, the concept in most cases found a response in the works of political scientists, which on the one hand significantly narrowed the concept, but on the other hand formed a kind of scientific basis for further research. The most important conclusion that political scientists have come to is that information can be not only a target, but also a weapon.

One of the most common definitions in the Russian-language literature belongs to the Russian political scientist A. Manoilo, who by "information war" means "the process of confrontation of human communities aimed at achieving political, economic, military or other strategic goals by influencing the civilian population, the authorities and (or) the armed forces of the opposing side through the dissemination of specially selectedand prepared information, informational materials and countering such influences on one's own side" ^{[5, p. 3]}.

Among foreign scientists, Martin Libiki, an American economist and political scientist, made a great contribution to the theory of "information warfare". He considered information warfare as an informational impact, including protection, manipulation, distortion and refutation of information ^{[12, p. 7]}. Libiki also classified the types of information wars, highlighting: command and control, intelligence, electronic, psychological, hacker, economic and cyber wars.

So, simultaneously with the term "information warfare", the formation of the related term "information and psychological warfare" also occurred from the English "information and psychological warfare". It is worth noting that if the concept of "information warfare" was considered mainly by political scientists with a distant link to linguistics, then "information and psychological warfare" initially became the subject of study of linguists.

The concept of information and psychological warfare is described in detail in the monograph "Linguistics of information and psychological warfare. Book III" by A.A. Bernatskaya, Yu.A. Gornostaeva and I.V. Evseeva. In this book, the following definition of information and psychological warfare is proposed: "the confrontation of the parties that arises from conflicts of interests and/or ideologies and is carried out by deliberately influencing, primarily with the help of linguistic means, the consciousness of the enemy (the people or any of its strata) for its cognitive suppression and/or subordination, and thatkzhe by applying measures of informational and psychological protection against such influence from the opposite side" ^{[2, p. 13]}.

Based on the above, it can be concluded that the addition of the adjective "psychological" added a linguistic connotation to the term "information war". That is, the meaning of the political science concept is expanded by identifying the specifics of using language as a means of informational confrontation. Thus, the concept of "information and psychological warfare" has become a reflection of the linguistic aspect of "information warfare".

However, we do not want to limit the term "information war" as an object of purely political research, and "information-psychological war" as a linguistic one. It is obvious that the development of the concept of "information war" in linguistics came out of political science, so in this study we do not give a new definition, but supplement it from the standpoint of the science of language so that it does not contradict the previously described experience of researchers.

Thus, we define information warfare as informational influence through special communicative practices, including specific language strategies and tactics, the purpose of which is to intentionally influence a person's consciousness in order to achieve certain strategic goals.

When it comes to the linguistic aspect, information warfare is most often studied as information-propaganda and information-psychological operations carried out with the help of mass media (mass media) through language.  

In the modern world, all events are perceived through the prism of mass media, which are one of the main tools of information warfare. The accelerated development of information processes and technologies allowed the media not only to exploit the information space for their own purposes, but also to control the mass consciousness of people in making certain decisions.

In the article by N.E. Belova "Features of the discourse of information warfare" two components of information warfare are identified: technical and substantive.

 The technical component is responsible for establishing mechanisms of information influence through print and electronic media, television and radio broadcasting. For example, M. Libiki believed that the technical component of information warfare can also be aimed at suppressing or destroying control, command and intelligence systems, as well as critical elements of the enemy's information infrastructure, while simultaneously protecting their own similar systems ^{[12, p.7]}. The content is the information content itself, with which the influence is carried outie on the audience ^{[1, p. 2]}.

When we consider the information war from the perspective of linguistics, we are primarily interested in the content part, that is, the information content broadcast in the media. The content broadcast to us in the media is subject to special rules and does not exist by itself, that is, it is in a special language environment or discourse. If we study the media as an instrument of information warfare, then, accordingly, we study language in a special type of discourse, namely, mass media discourse.

When discussing information warfare in the context of mass media discourse, it is important to understand the characteristics of this type of discourse. The greatest contribution to the development of the theory of mass media discourse was made by T.G. Dobrosklonskaya. In the article "Mass media discourse as an object of scientific description", the concept of mass media discourse is considered from the perspective of three approaches: structural, functional and thematic. The combination of all three approaches makes it possible to form a comprehensive idea of speech activity in the field of mass media, since it covers not only verbal communication in conjunction with the media channel, but also all extralinguistic factors associated with the peculiarities of creating a media message ^{[6, p. 2]}. According to T.G. Dobrosklonskaya, media discourse is a functionally conditioned type of discourse, which is understood as a set of speech practices and products of speech activity in the field of mass communication in all the richness and complexity of their interaction ^{[6, p. 10]}.

Thus, it can be argued that the information content (the content part) is included in the mass media discourse, that is, in a "relatively stable set of practices for the production, broadcast and interpretation of mass media" ^{[7, p. 7]}.

The central concept in the theory of mass media discourse is the media text - a special sequence of signs of various semiotic systems (linguistic, graphic, sound, visual), the specifics of the combination of which is determined by a specific channel of mass information. The study of specific linguistic means in the media text is the main goal of the linguistic aspect of the information war.

Considering the information war in the mass media discourse, we can supplement our definition: information war from a linguistic point of view is an information impact through special communicative practices in the media text, including specific language strategies and tactics, the purpose of which is to intentionally influence a person's consciousness in order to achieve certain strategic goals.

In describing the information war, we often use such a psychological process as "impact", which is why it is important to note the role of this concept in mass media discourse. In mass media discourse, any type of influence is directed at the consciousness of the addressee (audience) in order to subjugate it psychologically. In other words, mass consciousness is being manipulated.

Manipulation of mass consciousness is the implementation of a strategy of ideological subordination, when the dominant political elite seeks to impose certain views, opinions, attitudes on the masses in order to get approval for their actions ^{[6, p. 6]}.

Thus, the manipulation of mass consciousness is key in the definition of information warfare. According to T. van Dyck, when it comes to manipulation, the addressee has no way to resist manipulation and he becomes its victim ^{[14, p. 21]}. This observation is especially relevant when we consider the information war in the mass media discourse.

Most often, the audience "absorbs" information content without the opportunity to give feedback or enter into a discussion, that is, it is a passive participant who is directly manipulated.

It was not for nothing that it was noted earlier that the information war has a technical component, namely: mechanisms and platforms in which "fighting" takes place. Undoubtedly, in the general understanding, this mechanism is the media. However, the mechanisms within the media may also differ.

At this stage, it is important to note that the information war in social media, or social networks, is significantly different precisely because of the opportunity to give feedback and enter into an open dialogue with the author of the information, that is, to take an active role and respond to the impact. This implies a very important remark. The constant development of the mass media affects one of the components of the information war, the technical one, which is responsible for establishing mechanisms of information influence.

Instagram Facebook and Instagram^[1], Telegram, Vkontakte are currently witnessing such a phenomenon as the merger of social networks and mass media: electronic media use social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram^[1], Telegram, Vkontakte to duplicate, distribute and scale their content. The process of submitting information through social media provides opportunities for the audience not only to enter into a discussion with the media, but also to observe communications between all other participants. This phenomenon can not only affect the media in various manifestations, but also get additional information from other participants, which can also affect the perception of information.

The transition of the media to social networks has created a new scene of "fighting" in the context of information warfare. Now the chain of receiving information is not closed on the passive acceptance of information by the recipient, but continues in the process of discussion between the media themselves and other recipients.

Thus, the study of the linguistic phenomena of information warfare in mass media discourse requires careful sampling not only of the mass media themselves, but also the types of their technical implementation, since this can significantly affect the assessment of the audience's perception of a particular information. That is why the methodology of analyzing the linguistic phenomena of information warfare in mass media discourse is very important.

It is important to understand that the theoretical basis of the methodology of information warfare has not yet been fully studied. We have attempted a scientific understanding of the methods of studying information wars within the framework of mass media discourse.

To study the linguistic means of information warfare in mass media discourse, a hybrid approach is needed, which was also described by Dobrosklonskaya in the article "Media discourse as an object of linguistics and intercultural communication" ^{[6, p. 6]}. A hybrid approach to the study of information warfare in the theory of mass media discourse is based on a combination of a wide range of methods of various disciplines, especiallyabout linguistic.

Based on the integrated approach in the study of the mass media discourse of T.G. Dobrosklonskaya, it can be concluded that the methods of studying the theory of mass media discourse can be applied in the study of information wars. The integrated approach includes groups of methods of linguistic (lexical, stylistic, sociolinguistic, etc.), textual (phonosemantic, intent analysis, content analysis, discourse analysis, morphological, semantic and stylistic), critical, cognitive, linguocultural and media linguistic analysis. The above methods form a multi-stage approach that allows us to consider the impact of information content in the media from all sides.

Here is an example of studying information warfare in mass media discourse.

The clearest example of an information war that has engulfed the whole world without exception and continues to this day is the information vaccine war (IVV) associated with the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019. In the period from 2019 to 2021, a special set of communicative practices was formed in the media aimed at achieving the main goal of IVV – the conviction of the need for vaccination. However, the process of “persuasion” in different countries did not lead to the same result. Our goal is to consider language strategies and tactics of influencing the mass consciousness of people through the prism of the media. In other words, to determine the linguistic phenomena peculiar to this particular type of information warfare.

The analysis should begin with a media linguistic analysis, that is, with a description of a sample of media texts, including a description of their use in a specific type of media (printed, electronic, dependent or independent, etc.). With the help of media linguistic analysis, we can find patterns in the use of signs at each level of the media text, as well as variants of their combinations, for example, a combination of a word and an image. This method describes mass media as a special environment that obeys specific rules.

Then, by the method of cognitive analysis, we correlate the real situation in relation to vaccination with the submission of information to the media. For example, if the media claims that 60% of the population in country A is against vaccines, and according to statistics 60%, on the contrary, are vaccinated, then there is deliberate misinformation for one purpose or another. Or vice versa.

The method of critical linguistics will help us analyze the state's position on vaccination. After we have identified contradictions in the information in the media, we can proceed to the study of the content part of the content directly with the help of a group of text analysis, and the consideration of specific language means with the help of linguistic analysis. The result may be the substantiation of the hypothesis about the involvement of the media in accelerating /slowing down the vaccination process by influencing public consciousness.

It is important to understand that the above methods are part of the study of media discourse, but are not methodologically fixed in the context of the study of information warfare. The complexity of developing a methodology for information warfare lies in the fact through the prism of which science this phenomenon will be studied.

The assumption that the methods of studying mass media discourse can be used as a methodological basis for studying, for example, language strategies and tactics of information wars, is experimental.

It is interesting to note that in the process of searching and selecting the necessary methods for studying information wars from the point of view of the linguistic aspect, we did not find the methods by which the analysis was carried out. In most studies, the fact was taken as an axiom that information warfare, as part of the science of political science, is considered from the standpoint of political linguistics, therefore, the main linguistic means is a political metaphor.

Conclusion

In the modern world, the boundaries between war and peace, between information, influence and manipulation are very mobile. The speed of development of political events determines the emergence of new types of information wars in the international sphere: vaccine, passport, migration, visa, etc. That is why the authors, specialists in communications and technologies develop the thesis that in the modern post-industrial, information society, social and economic development is closely linked with the development of communications and media.

Today, the issues of transition from information support to information partnership and, conversely, information warfare and information wars as new vectors of movement towards the organization of public participation in social development are being considered. The militarization of communication technologies, the weaponization of the language of the media and the media cause most of the social processes, including in the international arena, contributing to the development or destruction of international relations. Digitization of communication and communication itself on the web occurs mostly by means of verbal and various semantic signs, which, in turn, can be objects of research in linguosemiotics and other interdisciplinary branches of science. The immersion of an increasing part of humanity into the virtual world of media in the age of digitalization has generated a demand for the creation of information weapons, cyber warfare with all its components: soft power, discursive power and technologies, etc.

Thus, we can conclude that the methods of studying information warfare in mass media discourse are poorly studied. To determine the linguistic features of the information war, it is necessary to use either existing methods of linguistic analysis, or approach the issue of studying from a completely new perspective.

^[1] extremist organization banned in the Russian Federation