Peculiarities of the Propaganda Transformation as an Instrument of Influence in the Metamodern Society

The article reveals the substantive characteristics of the transformation of propaganda as an instrument of influence, and also shows its both destructive and constructive role in the metamodern society. The importance of considering propaganda in a neutral context is determined, which allows us to describe it as an important form of directed communications aimed at changing public opinion in favor of a specific task or intention. The author reveals the positive function of propaganda as a technique of social unification, strengthening faith and ensuring social harmony. At the same time, its destructive potential as a means of manipulation and disinformation is revealed. The stages of transformation of the content, methods and forms of propaganda from antiquity to the present are described. The influence of communication means on the nature of propaganda is shown. If in the twentieth century the main instruments of propaganda were radio, cinema and television, in the twenty-first century they have become social networks. The article identifies the peculiarities of propaganda in the metamodern society, which is characterized by indirect methods of influence based on the mechanisms of seduction and soft power and includes appeals to either rational interests or irrational needs for spectacular or emotional communication. The deterritorialization of ideas and narratives in the modern digital environment creates favorable conditions for concealing propaganda and promoting it more quickly. The author identifies such mechanisms of modern propaganda as temptation, performance, reformatting of contexts, false intertextuality, and personalization of messages. While classical propaganda was vertical in nature, in the metamodern society, horizontal ties through which propaganda narratives are promoted are becoming more important. The increasing dependence of the authorities on the desires of citizens in modern democracies causes propaganda to be built on the basis of public expectations, which leads to the prevalence of populism in political decisions. The author describes the phenomenon of post-truth as a product of modern propaganda, which shapes public opinion not by using facts but by relying on emotional reactions of people. The author proves the importance of controlling the methods and strategies of propaganda in the metamodern society.