FEAR AND OUTRAGE AS DRIVERS OF THE SPREAD OF MANIPULATIVE MESSAGES

Abstract

The article explores the role of fear and outrage as highly activating emotions in the mechanisms of spreading manipulative messages in the digital environment. The work is based on the assumption that emotional virality is not a side effect of disinformation, but rather its structural condition, reinforced by the algorithmic logic of platforms. The goal is to substantiate how fear and outrage, combined with the architecture of digital platforms, increase the likelihood of spreading manipulative content, and to identify practical approaches to countering emotionally charged informational influences. The research was carried out within the framework of theoretical-empirical synthesis using a conceptual analysis of modern psychological and media research, a comparative-typological approach to delineating the functional configurations of fear and outrage, as well as an analysis of secondary empirical data (meta-analyses of fear appeals, experimental studies of moral outrage, data on the network dynamics of news dissemination). Elements of case analysis are applied to specify practical interventions in the field of information hygiene and digital communication. The article shows that fear and indignation form different cognitive-behavioral scenarios: the first activates the logic of threat and urgency, the second – the logic of moral violation and punishment. It is established that the combination of these emotions increases engagement, shortens the phase of reflective verification of information and enhances social signaling in the network. It is substantiated that the algorithmic mechanisms of platforms (interaction metrics, speed of dissemination, prioritization of reactions) structurally reinforce emotionally rich content. Practical recommendations are developed, focused not only on refuting false statements, but also on neutralizing emotional triggers: the use of inoculation strategies (prebunking), combining an appeal to risk with an increased sense of efficacy, forming a pause between the emotional impulse and the action of dissemination. The results of the study may be useful for specialists in the field of psychology, media education and cognitive security, for developers of communication strategies in the public sector, journalists, moderators of digital platforms, as well as for educational programs aimed at developing media literacy and resistance to manipulative influence.