Visualization as a tool for manipulating the modern information-hybrid war. History of one photo — “The truism in Szyrokine”
Documentary nature of photography convinces the viewer that the image is exactly the same as reality. A photo causes trust and this property of photos is repeatedly used in manipulating public opinion. In the report perception means of the image are analyzed. Special attention is paid to the fact how photojournalism becomes the powerful tool in terms of information war against a backdrop of military conflicts. Especially in today’s conditions, when, according to Oksana Zabuzhko: “Era of »bombed cities« passed — the era of »bombed brains« began…”.
History of photodocumentary and history in general can argue that wars and disasters always attracted the attention of the news. A photo neutralized the distance between the viewer and the event. But at the same time, in terms of Russian aggression against Ukraine, it became a popular and effective weapon in the “information” or “psychological war”. The meaning and the true scale of this war are often underestimated. It is perceived like a sort of supplement to “main”, “hot” armed phase of the war. But in reality the meaning is reversed: the information war is total. Moreover, the visual aspect of it is paid the main attention.
Photos and their variations are successfully used as a technology of hybrid war. The consequences of this are so powerfully felt by Ukrainian media space. To the most used means we include misrepresentations, information provokes, fakes, manipulations, photo collages, false testimonies of witness, fake experts and witnesses and others. These technologies are analyzed in the report as manipulative tools of modern information and hybrid war.