Language and Communication Aspects of Disinformation

1. 7. 2023 – 30. 6. 2027

Principal Investigator: Alexandra Jarošová

Project Coordinator: Lucia Molnár Satinská

Researchers at ĽŠIL SAS: Vladimír Benko, Dáša Cimermanová, Radovan Garabík, Júlia Choleva (Vrábľová), Siniša Habijanec, Natália Kolenčíková, Lucia Molnár Satinská, Jaroslava Rusinková, Roman Soóky, Slavomíra Stanková, Dušan Žovinec

Other Researchers: Katarína Bohová, Miroslava Gavurová, Viera Kováčová

Partner Institutions: Filozofická fakulta Katolíckej Univerzity v Ružomberku, Filozofická fakulta Prešovskej Univerzity v Prešove, Filozofická fakulta Univerzity Komenského v Bratislave

Grant scheme and Evidence number: APVV-22-0370

Annotation: In the current so-called post-truth era, in which the boundary between facts and opinions becomes blurred, the project is proposed as our reaction to the need to strengthen the strategic communication of the state with the people, thereby minimize the impact of targeted disinformation on the population. The design of a successful model for strategic communication is preceded by three research perspectives divided into three work packages in the project. A substantial part of the project takes (1) research into how misinformation and intelligible communication work in the Slovak language. (2) The historical-cultural research on disinformation practices will hence support this aim by its findings in analyzing themes such as the inquisition, anti-semitism and creating an image of the enemy on the one hand, and the traditional folk culture associated with superstitions and magic on the other hand. (3) The computer processing of disinformation texts will support the project's aim by compiling a corpus of contemporary misinformation texts. The corpus will serve as a source of texts for further linguistic analysis and reference data in Work Package 1. A comparable corpus of non-fake news will serve as a control and for contrastive research. Therefore, the project's drive is a description and explanation of language and communication practices of disinformation based on a conclusion from theory and empirical data. Finally, the project will result in knowledge applied in designing a model of successful strategic communication between the state and the population based on comprehensibility, communication culture and social inclusion.