THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS OF RESEARCH OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AS A TOOL FOR FORMING PUBLIC OPINION

Abstract

The problem of forming public opinion is important in the life of most countries today, especially with the development of new information technologies. The phenomenon of the latter is used in all spheres of society, a trend of which is rapidly increasing in the context of the continuous development of scientific and technological progress. This article presents some of the leading scientific developments that formed the theoretical basis for the study of the phenomenon of information technology as a power mechanism. Certain scientific approaches to defining the concept of «information technologies», identifying their essence and significance in the development of social consciousness are considered. The place and role of this phenomenon in the interaction of the political sector with civil society, as well as it’s influence on the formation of public opinion, are analyzed. The author also characterizes the place of IT in the political structure of modern society, the peculiarities of its manipulative nature, and its thematic and content content. In particular, the role of IT in the process of informing members of society, creating public awareness, and establishing communication between political leaders and ordinary citizens is established. At the same time, it is emphasized that the use of the spectrum of information technologies to influence public opinion is accompanied by various manipulation techniques used by certain political actors and implemented through information resources. The author emphasizes the dichotomous nature of information technologies due to the multifaceted and complex nature of the analyzed phenomenon. On the one hand, they play the role of a rational and multidimensional communication and management tool of global importance, while, on the other hand, they are used to implement destructive motives with destabilizing effects through appropriate communication and behavioral techniques and methods formulated in the scientific research of foreign thinkers of the twentieth century.