The Impact of Information Wars and Fakes on the Media Agenda of Universities: a Socio-Philosophical Analysis

This article is devoted to the influence of fakes and information wars on the media agenda of modern universities. The article substantiates the relevance and significance of the topic of media coverage for modern social philosophy. The main approaches to the phenomena of fakes and information wars in social existence are considered. The contribution of classical and modern researchers in theorizing about the role of the university in social life is noted. A comprehensive analysis of the dependence of the image of higher education institutions on their inclusion in media space is carried out. The transformation of universities image building activities with the account of new media resources is traced. The analysis of the experience of the presence of fakes in the social being reveals the possibilities of their influence on the university environment, where disinformation, discrediting and undermining the reputation can be objectified most clearly. It is established that it is the possibilities of new media that increase the manipulative potential of fakes when they are included in the information field of universities. The essential characteristics of modern information wars are given. The specifics of their negative impact on the foundation of individual "I" of young people are specified. The directions of universities activities related to the updating of curricula depending on the current challenges and information threats are defined. It is shown that changes in educational courses and modules are able to reproduce critically thinking graduates and thereby improve the quality of human capital capable of demarcating lines in the perceived information according to the principle of reliability. In line with the pragmatics of modern socio-philosophical works, the directions of increasing the level of media literacy for a better understanding of modern mass communication media are taken into account. The main options for developing a competitive level of media literacy in students are analyzed. In conclusion, the main results of the study are summarized, acting as a starting point for future analysis of individual contextual realities in which higher education institutions are immersed with the formation of their media agenda.