Formation of High School Students’ Resistance to Destructive Information Influences

Today, information attacks occupy a prominent place in hybrid wars and their influence and significance are not inferior to armed aggression. Furthermore, information warfare begins long before the invading tanks and launching missiles. It continues during the so-called “hot” war, taking on more and more “sophisticated” forms, using a wide range of tools, and improving the distribution network. One of the primary targets of information attacks is civil society, which, being misinformed, disoriented, and processed by enemy propaganda, becomes an enemy ally in the “hot” phase of the war. Therefore, strengthening society’s resilience to information threats is an urgent issue for global security. This article analyzes the experience of European countries, in particular, Eastern Europe and the Baltic States, which shows that citizens’ immunity to disinformation and hostile propaganda can be strengthened through: their media and information education; development of critical thinking; and civic education. As a result of theoretical analysis of scientific sources and the results of a questionnaire survey of Borys Grinchenko Kyiv University students, the course “Counter-manipulation Strategies in Information Security” was substantiated and developed to build university students’ resistance to destructive information influences