Psychological aspects of protection of personality from the exposure of misinformation

Latynov Vladislav Victorovitch

The article analyzes the results of modern research on countering the dissemination of misinformation in the modern world and protecting an individual from its influence. The psychological mechanisms underlying the influence of such information on the consciousness of people are considered. The features of fake messages, contributing to their wide distribution, are highlighted. An assessment of the effectiveness of various strategies countering misinformation has been carried out. The factors that increase the effectiveness of the fight against misinformation are highlighted. Such factors include: the characteristics of the source of misinformation and the subject from which the refutation came, the structure of the refuting message, the topic it touches, the frequency of repetition of misinformation and the time elapsed between its appearance and refutation, the degree and direction of the cognitive activity of the recipient, his attitudes and beliefs.

Keywords:misinformation, fakes, conspiracy theories, refutation strategies, "mental model", cognitive activity.