Disinformation in the digital age – the fight for the truth

Abstract

The paper discusses the “modernity” of the disinformation phenomenon through the prism of the historical development of the media by taking into consideration the political and economic aspects of each phase, the nature of truth, and disinformation as a tool for manipulation. It also examines the escalation of disinformation in the corpus of public knowledge with a special focus on the role of social networks. Social networks eliminated the communication monopoly which had hitherto been reserved for an elite circle of people. As a result, mass communication has become globally accessible to every skilled individual. The paper also focuses on the model for counteracting the impact of disinformation according to the principles of the European approach to counteracting disinformation. It also emphasizes that fighting for the truth is a more appropriate model than fighting against lies.