Political events covered by Russian and Ukrainian media: a sociological aspect

At the present stage of the social development, manipulation is an integral part of life, especially in political processes. The media uses various manipulative techniques when broadcasting political news, in particular during political conflicts. Armed conflict in the South-East of Ukraine led to the distortion of political news in Russian and Ukrainian media. The research considers the most popular manipulative techniques used by modern mass media in both countries by a case study of certain messages of information services. The purpose of the study is to compare the interpretations of political events in Russian and Ukrainian media. It is concluded that the media of both countries apply various technologies to manipulate public opinion when covering events in the conflict zone in the South-East of Ukraine.