Digital Transformation of Media Space: New Challenges and Opportunities for Political Communication in the Age of Social Media

Kirichuk Dar'ya Anatolyevna ORCID: 0009-0000-0378-4443 Assistant Professor; Department of Comparative Political Science; P. Lumumba Peoples' Friendship University of Russia Miklukho-Maklaya str., 6, Moscow, 117198 Russia kirichuk-da@rudn.ru

Introduction

In the modern world, characterized by the rapid development of digital technologies, the boundaries between traditional media and new forms of mass communication are becoming increasingly blurred. These changes open up new opportunities for democratizing communication and increasing citizen participation in political and social life, but at the same time require the development of effective regulatory mechanisms and ensuring the reliability of information in a rapidly developing digital world. This transformation has profound implications for political communication, as it opens up new opportunities for citizen engagement, democratization, and public discourse.

Social networks contribute to the emergence of new forms of public communication, where any participant can influence the agenda, express their opinions and launch public discussions. This changes the usual methods of political management and puts forward new tasks for the state related to maintaining trust, transparency and feedback ^{[8, p.11]}. There is a need to adapt to the rapidly changing conditions of the information field, where the speed and scale of information dissemination play a crucial role.

Media transformation in the context of digitalization

Nowadays, it is difficult to imagine the life of society without the use of digital technologies, including the global Internet and various online services. In the information society, the use of digital technologies has become extremely in demand, and digitalization has had a significant impact on the transformation of the media.

In the development of the political system, which, as many scientists note, is becoming more and more immersed in the information space, the media play the role of recreating or transforming reality, because according to G. Lasswell ^[11], the media should be viewed through the prism of a communicator, content and channel, and each of these links has a special institutional status and professional standards This allows the media to create a "fourth power" that distributes public resources and forms the audience's belief in the legitimacy or illegitimacy of certain political actors and processes, as well as indirectly interacting with the Internet space as a "fifth power" that performs similar functions, but is potentially more flexible and interactive.

Digitalization and the emergence of social media are leading to major changes in the structure of the media and are rebuilding the very model of interaction, opening up new horizons for two-way communication, when citizens have the opportunity to interact with politicians in real time, including involving those groups of the population that were previously ignored. However, the development of digital communications has a downside: the spread of false information, which undermines trust in both the source of information and the object of communication ^{[5, p.131]}.

Based on the historical experience described by W. Lippman, the media not only reflect reality, but also construct it, so that society has to rely on their interpretations, often without being able to verify the objectivity of the messages presented, as a result of which the media sphere acquires the features of a "virtual reality" capable of determining which political discourses will prevail and which values They will receive institutional consolidation, and this is confirmed by many examples, including from the experience of post-socialist countries, where the weakening of state control over the media served as a catalyst for radical political changes, opening the way for mass coverage of the failures of communist regimes and the formation of a new legitimacy of power ^[12].

Political communication is a form of social interaction in which information, knowledge, values, and ideas are exchanged between various participants. This process makes it possible to inform society about events in the political sphere, to influence the activities of political actors, to participate in the management of society and to form relations of power and subordination. ^{[9, C.148]}. This exchange of information contributes to the creation and maintenance of certain meanings and ideas that influence the perception of politics and its key issues. Through political communications, public sentiment is formed, decisions are made and directions of action are determined both at the level of individual groups and at the state level.

The functioning of political communication with such a weakening of rigid barriers and the transition to new channels of content distribution, which, according to I. A. Bykov, with the introduction of digital technologies allow citizens not only to "receive information", but also to actively participate in its creation, leads to the fact that corporate media and official structures can no longer monopolize control. the agenda, as new reasons for discussion are formed in the competing and often chaotic field of social platforms, resonant "virtual" opinion leaders appear, and the mass audience, which has the opportunity to instantly react and form alternative interpretations, actually becomes a full-fledged participant in the communication process ^[1]. This shift in the distribution of power over information and the ability to influence public opinion has far-reaching implications for the political system. Firstly, the pressure on traditional media and political institutions is increasing, forcing them to adapt to new realities and find ways to remain relevant in a saturated information space. Secondly, there is a need to form new regulatory mechanisms that can guarantee the reliability and reliability of information circulating on social platforms.

Many communication researchers agree that the introduction of digital technologies into the modern media space is manipulative. This contributes to the predominance of technological approaches over humanistic ones in the theory of socio-political communication. As a result, the emphasis shifts towards the technical aspects of information transmission, which often detracts from the importance of the human factor, ethical standards and social responsibility in the process ^[7]. This shift in emphasis towards technological determinism leads to the fact that information is perceived more as a commodity subject to rapid exchange and processing, rather than as a tool for deep understanding and comprehension of social processes.

The Digital Age in political communication: challenges and opportunities

Many researchers pay attention to the demoralization of the political sphere caused by active digitalization. Technologies for creating and distributing fakes and disinformation, which have enormous manipulative potential, are widely used in the Internet space ^{[6, p.67]}. In such conditions, the media perform not only an informational, but also a manipulative function, forming certain ideas about reality among the audience, which are often far from the objective picture. For example, social media has a low entry threshold and a strong dependence on user-generated content, and such accessibility reduces the effectiveness of monitoring the dissemination of political information. Weak online fact-checking standards, combined with the high rate of content distribution on social media, increase the risk of spreading disinformation and fake news, which reinforces incorrect political perceptions.

As S. V. Volodenkov notes in his work, "... with the development of the Internet as a space of political communications, new forms of online propaganda have appeared, based on a fundamentally new model based on the principle of indirect transmission of certain values, models of worldview and behavior in interactive interaction." ^{[2, p.10]}. Indeed, today we are witnessing how various actors ranging from government agencies to private organizations use the online space to promote their ideas and values. These technologies often operate unnoticed, through interactive formats such as social networks, forums, and messengers, where users themselves become participants in the information dissemination process.

It is necessary to note another challenge that political communication faces, namely the technology of creating texts using artificial intelligence, such as ChatGPT. The generated content, with certain algorithm settings, can be used to spread disinformation, conspiracy theories, and other manipulative materials ^[13]. This opens up opportunities for covert interference in socio-political processes, including information "stuffing" during election campaigns, which can distort public opinion and influence election results. In this case, society and the state face new challenges related to the need to develop mechanisms for monitoring and regulating the use of AI in the media space, as well as improving the media literacy of the population for critical assessment of information ^[4]. States and society are forced to look for ways to effectively manage these processes in order to minimize risks and ensure the security of the information space.

Another challenge is the problem of the polarization of society. Digital platforms contribute to the strengthening of "echo chambers" where people receive information relevant to their political beliefs. In this case, a person receives content that corresponds exclusively to his preferences, because the Internet space is controlled by algorithms that take into account the psychological characteristics, personal beliefs and subjective characteristics of each user ^[14]. It is important to develop mechanisms that would encourage a variety of information. For example, algorithms could offer users content representing different points of view, even if it does not match their current preferences, and this would help expand their horizons of perception and reduce the effect of "echo chambers".

Despite the challenges, political communication in the era of social media opens up the opportunity to revitalize public life by providing wider access to political information, stimulating political discussions, developing social networks and creating new platforms for expressing political views and active participation of the population ^[12]. Social media really plays a key role in shaping the modern political landscape. They allow citizens not only to receive operational information, but also to actively participate in its creation and dissemination. This creates conditions for the emergence of new forms of civic engagement, where everyone has the opportunity to speak out and be heard.

It should also be noted the emergence of new ways of communication between the state and society, such as e-government, public service portals and online reception rooms of various ministries and departments, etc. Thanks to information technologies, these innovations make it possible to establish a dialogue between the government and citizens, involving different segments of the population in political life and making cooperation between the state and society more effective ^[3]. Such changes contribute to strengthening trust between citizens and government agencies, as they provide an opportunity for direct participation in management through feedback mechanisms.

Conclusion

The development of digital technologies and digitalization are radically changing the landscape of political communication, offering new opportunities for interaction between the state and society. However, these changes are accompanied by significant challenges, such as the spread of disinformation, manipulation of public opinion, and increased polarization of society. In an environment where technologies are becoming more accessible, it is important to consider not only their potential for communication development, but also the risks associated with their use for destructive purposes. This requires a comprehensive approach that includes both technical solutions and legal, ethical, and educational measures to minimize negative consequences.

Thus, the successful functioning of political communication in the digital age requires a harmonious combination of innovation and traditional principles of openness, reliability of information and respect for human rights, which will help ensure effective interaction between the state and society.