THE GENESIS AND EXPANSION OF FAKES IN CULTURE DOMESTIC MASS MEDIA

УДК 070

Abstract

The article examines the phenomenon of fakery as a construct of the modern information space, the reasons for its occurrence and the mechanisms of distribution in the mass communication network. An analysis of fakes about Covid-19 is being carried out, and patterns and drivers for reproducing arrays of fake information are being studied. The research is carried out on the basis of theoretical ideas about the systemic nature of the functioning of the information space, using standards and factchecking tools as a key element of journalistic activity in conditions of chaotization of information flows, as well as relying on the categorical apparatus of the «picture of the world» concept. It is concluded that during the pandemic, phantoms of the mass media space appeared, representing a significant fragment of virtual reality. Phantoms are understood as a circle of fake phenomena constructed in the digital environment, which are completely false, illusory in their essence, but, nevertheless, have a significant impact on social life, social behavior of people, processes in the media and social networks.