Network technologies for information warfare and manipulation of public opinion

This paper explores the impact of new information technologies on the development of social communication and social systems. The properties and features of the modern information environment are analyzed. The factors and technologies of information warfare and confrontation are investigated. The role of information communication technologies in the operation of social-network movements is demonstrated. The means and methods of the mass media, social networks, and destructive network technologies that are applied to manipulate group behavior and to transform public opinion are exposed. The potential of sociodynamics as a new instrument of targeted impact on social systems is explored. Possible risks and threats that face the development of telecommunication systems and networks are assessed. Conclusions and relevant activities are formulated to prevent the rise of information confrontations and to mitigate hidden impacts and threats to the country’s social-economic, scientific, and technological development.