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Classification of types of information distortions. Abstract: Distortion of information

Manipulations with the information flow - there are many ways to manipulate information to create a false model of the surrounding reality in a person. We will consider some of these techniques separately.

Silence (concealment) is the transmission of incomplete true information, as a result, the victim makes a mistake. A person hides some information, while not saying anything that does not correspond to reality. Not everyone believes that silence and lies are the same thing, therefore, if there is a choice of how to lie, people more often prefer to remain silent about something, not to speak, rather than openly distort the facts. Hiding has many benefits. First, it is easier to hide than to manipulate the facts. Nothing needs to be invented. There is no risk of getting caught because the whole "legend" is not worked out in advance. Concealment is also preferable because it is passive and seems less reprehensible than falsification. It can also be much easier to cover up later if it is exposed. Man does not go too far. There are many excuses: ignorance, wanting to talk about it later, bad memory, etc. By simulating a memory lapse, the misrepresenting person avoids having to remember the "legend": all that needs to be remembered is the bad memory claim. But memory loss can only be invoked if it is about minor things or about something that happened some time ago, otherwise it will be implausible.

Selection is a selective pass to the victim of only information that is beneficial to the deceiver.

In competition with a business partner, it is also much easier to hide information from him than to dispute it in polemics. The ability to competently hide something from your opponent is the most important component of the art of diplomacy. The professionalism of the polemist lies in skillfully moving away from the truth without resorting to outright lies.

Distortion is a way of presenting information, when attention is drawn only to the facts that are most beneficial for the source of information, it is a conscious underlining of only one side of the phenomenon that is beneficial to the deceiver. This also includes the creation of an appropriate design that presents the issue from a certain angle.

Distortion is an understatement, exaggeration, or out of proportion. A typical example of the distortion of the proportions of the transmitted information is a report from the battlefield. The American psychologist F. Butler proposed a simple variant of outwardly objective two-sided argumentation: he advised bringing the strongest, most convincing arguments in favor of "one's" position, and the weakest ones in favor of the "other" side. So you can show the failure of any opponent. You can also compare obviously unequal categories. Non-experts won't even notice.

Flipping - swapping, replacing "black" with "white". Another Polish writer-humorist E. Lec wrote: "Never change the truth! Change the truth!" This can be a substitution of goals: when your interest is presented as the interest of another person. Remember how Tom Sawyer painted the fence ("Painting the fence is cool").

Falsification (rigging) is the transfer of deliberately false information on the merits of the issue under consideration. This may be perjury, false statements and denials, fabrication of facts, documents, etc. (1)

It has to be resorted to when one default is not enough. When falsifying, a person takes the next step: not only withholds true information, but also presents false information as true. The real state of affairs is hidden and deliberately false information is conveyed to the partner, which can be presented in the form of false documents, references to non-existent sources, experiments, etc.

In some cases, an untrue message from the very beginning requires manipulation, hiding alone is not enough. For example, if you need to distort information about previous work experience in order to get a good job when applying for a job. It is necessary not only to hide inexperience, but also to come up with a suitable work biography. Fraud is also inevitable if one wants to disguise what a person needs to hide. This is especially necessary when it comes to hiding emotions. It is easy to hide an already experienced emotion, and much more difficult this moment especially if it's a strong feeling. Horror is harder to hide than anxiety, rage - than irritation.

Most often, a person fails because some sign of a hidden emotion leaks out. The stronger the emotion, the more likely it is that some sign of it will leak out despite all attempts to hide it. The imitation of another, non-experienced emotion can help mask the hidden experience. By falsifying emotion, one can cover up the leakage of signs of a secret experience. It is much easier to put on a mask, slow down or extinguish by a number of other actions those that express the emotion experienced. When the hands begin to tremble, it is much easier to do something with them - clench into fists or squeeze them - than to make them lie still. The best mask is a false emotion. Most often, a smile is used as a mask. It is the opposite of all negative emotions: fear, anger, suffering, disgust, etc. Another reason for the popularity of the smile as a mask is that it is the easiest expression of all facial expressions to voluntarily reproduce. For most people, it is harder to fake negative emotions. But not every situation allows you to mask the experienced emotion. In some cases, a much more difficult task needs to be solved: how to hide an emotion without falsifying another.

False explanation - a person may also not hide his feelings, especially if he fails to do this, but lie about their reason. By truthfully recognizing the emotion experienced, he misleads as to the cause of its occurrence.

Disorientation is the transmission of irrelevant true or false information in order to distract from the essence of the issue at hand. Anything is reported, but not about the essence of the matter. Such types of disorientation as flattery and slander are widely used. This technique is especially widely used by political leaders.

A half-truth is a mixture of significant true information with significant false information, a mixture of lies and reliable information; one-sided coverage of facts; inaccurate and vague wording of the provisions under discussion; references to sources with a disclaimer like: "I don't remember who said..."; distortion of a reliable statement with the help of value judgments, etc. The method of "half-truth" is most often used when it is necessary to get away from an undesirable turn of the dispute, when there are no reliable arguments, but it is imperative to challenge the opponent, when it is necessary, contrary to common sense, to persuade someone to a certain conclusion. The truth is told, but only partially.

Throwing False Evidence - People have been known to put much more trust in the ideas they have in their own heads than in the thoughts that come from another person. Therefore, experienced deceivers always try to avoid direct pressure on the victim, preferring an indirect, unobtrusive effect on his way of thinking. To do this, they seemingly accidentally throw him certain information, the conclusions of which he must draw himself. With a competent presentation of certain facts, a person himself must draw exactly the conclusions that the deceiver is counting on. At the same time, it is important that the principle is observed: evidence should be planted seemingly by chance, indirectly, only then they do not arouse suspicion. This suggests the conclusion: having received evidence of someone's guilt, think about whether there are people for whom such a development of events is favorable. It is possible that this information came to you not by chance.

Creation of a "non-existent reality" - with the help of small, but expressive details, a corner of a false space is created around the victim, which should give the words and actions of the scammers a special persuasiveness.

Masking (2) - represents an attempt to hide some essential information with the help of some non-essential information. There are four main masking options:

Disguising essential lies with non-essential lies.

Disguise of essential truth with non-essential lies.

Disguising an essential lie with a non-essential truth.

Masking Essential Truth with Non-Essential Truth.

False conclusion is another trick to avoid speaking lies. It consists in allowing the interlocutor to draw a conclusion from what was said himself, but at the same time lead him to ensure that this conclusion is false.

False interpretation - at the logical level, it is associated with the ability to introduce some false premises into consciousness. To implement them, they use such techniques as the "presumption of normality": the message of a large number of true and verifiable judgments, among which only one judgment is false. Because of this, it is rather difficult to detect an untrue judgment.

Change of context - a case from life is given, which was in reality. But this case is transferred to another context. This makes it possible to retain in memory many small details related to this case, which creates the illusion of the veracity of the story. There is no need to compose and specifically remember something.

False expectation effect: successful misrepresentation is based on it. The person who is deceived, given the received truthful information, predicts the development of events in the most probable direction, and the person who distorts the information acts in a way that violates his expectations. The purpose of the false message is to direct the interlocutor's thinking along the path of actualization of frequently encountered familiar situations. The deceived is always an unwitting accomplice of deception: he is a victim of his own inadequate ideas about reality. Also, deceivers can use true information, provoking the interlocutor to erroneous conclusions from it.

Deception "from the contrary" - the wolf caught the hare. And the hare asks him: "Do whatever you want with me, even eat me, just don't throw me into the thorn bush." “If he is so afraid of this,” the wolf thought, “then I will throw him there.” So the smart hare deceived the stupid wolf.

Telling the truth under the guise of deceit is another related method - telling the truth, but with overexposure, so that the victim does not believe it, i.e. telling the truth lies. Otto von Bismarck said: "If you want to fool the world, tell him the truth." Deceit with the truth is a rare form of swindle. It works very well. The main thing is that people, as a rule, do not expect such impudence. True, here it is necessary either to be able to control oneself well, or to be a good artist.

They deceive those who want to be deceived. In many cases, the victim of the deception misses the mistakes of the misrepresenter, giving his ambiguous behavior the most favorable interpretation. This is done to avoid the dire consequences that exposure may entail. Often the victim both wins and loses from false information or exposure, but these results are not necessarily balanced.

Deception by rearrangement - when a potential victim is forced to try on the role of a deceiver. As a result of various psychological manipulations, it begins to seem to the victim that he is deceiving others, while real scammers diligently maintain this illusion up to a certain point. And only in the final everything falls into place.

In any case, the key point in the analysis is true given message or not, is the definition of the subject's motives, the establishment of the reasons why he considers it necessary to remain silent about certain facts known to him.

Perhaps one of the most important points in understanding a person by a person and recognizing a possible deception on his part is the definition of his motives. Think about whether there is any reason or any interest for this particular person to keep silent about any facts or to change them altogether. No wonder the police in solving crimes always ask the question: who benefits from this? If you are going to conclude some kind of trade deal with a partner, it may be worth reading the text of the agreement more carefully, especially what is written in it in small print. And it is even better to write the text yourself so that there are no misunderstandings.

Communication barriers are obstacles that interfere with the implementation of contacts and interaction between the communicator and the recipient. They prevent adequate reception, understanding and assimilation of messages in the process of implementing communication links.

Communication barriers can be classified as follows.

1. technical barrier in the form of noise and interference in artificial communication channels. Noises are of natural origin, and interference is intentional. Due to the influence of noise and interference, the distinguishability of useful signals decreases and the task of recognizing signals against a background noise arises. The source of such interference is the communication channel itself (fax, telephone), when obstacles to the passing signal appear in the communication channel. Interference can completely block the communication channel or partially, distorting information or truncating it.

2. Psychological barrier associated with the relationship between the communicator and the recipient, their attitudes to the channel of information, methods, content and form of communication. This kind of barrier arises from the perceptual distortions that inevitably accompany communication. In the minds of communicating people, an image (image) of a partner is formed, which can be attractive or repulsive, indifferent or exciting, etc.

3. Psychophysiological barrier arises due to sensory abilities, features of human perception, the ability of the human brain to memorize and process information.

4. social barrier expressed in the belonging of communicants to different social groups, they are due to social norms, prohibitions, restrictions in obtaining information. Mutual understanding between different generations, representatives of different classes and estates, urban and rural residents, men and women, people with different educational qualifications, etc. is difficult.

5. Cultural-national barrier. Features in interethnic communications are due to differences in traditions, norms, values, assessment of various forms of communications, reactions to the information received.

The purpose of studying communication barriers is to find out the causes of occurrence and ways of influencing the effectiveness of information links in social systems. Psychologists consider communication barriers from the point of view of the psychology of communication, differences in the psychological perception of information.

AT various models communication, in addition to the above-mentioned barriers, their own, specific, narrow-profile ones may also arise, and the noted communication barriers can also be combined.

The presence or absence of barriers in communication channels is checked by comparing the information at the input and output of this channel. This information cannot always be verified. Presence in the communication system feedback allows such verification. AT technical networks communication, special devices, blocks are installed that make such comparisons and look for distorted information.

Obstacles in the way of information flow create serious problems in communicative relations. Obstacles can arise at the stage of receiving, and at the stage of transmission, and at the stage of receiving information. Or otherwise, those people (or systems) that have information that needs to be transferred to someone are not able to communicate it to the addressee; those who have to organize the transfer of information may also, for one reason or another, be deprived of the opportunity to do so; and those who need to receive the information may also be unable to receive and/or assimilate it.

Most often in interpersonal communications there are language barriers. Difficulties in the use of the language arise even if both sides have a fairly good command of the same language. If one side begins to understand that the communication partner does not understand specific terms, then he replaces them with understandable ones, and in further communication he will try to avoid them. Official speech is very different from everyday speech. The military speaks using strictly defined terms that are understood unambiguously. If, however, the philosopher is offered to speak the same language as the military, then be sure that the essence of philosophy can also be emasculated. In a word, stylistic barriers associated with a mismatch between the styles of communicants or content and style, in some cases can lead to a complete misunderstanding of the parties involved in linguistic communication.

Semantic barriers arise due to giving the wrong meaning to the symbols used in communications (words, pictures, actions), i.e., they are caused by a mismatch of codes used by the parties of communication. From several possible values, the communicator needs to choose one in such a way that it is unambiguously perceived by the recipient. Many problems arise in the implementation of communication between representatives of different cultures. In this case, both parties do not always know well the meanings of all the words and expressions used by the parties, all the more, they do not always adequately interpret them in the context of use, taking into account intonation, loudness, pauses, and accompanying non-verbal gestures.

The process of information exchange can be disturbed for subjective reasons (turn of mind, psychological characteristics of perception, etc.). Biased attitude to certain information often leads to the exclusion from the text of the message of information that is unpleasant for the participant in communication. Similar obstacles may arise from the avoidance of contact by one of the partners.

Disturbances in the process of information exchange can also occur due to the so-called "specialization effect". A group of "narrow" specialists, as a rule, applies the least number of actions in relation to the information received, most often interprets it from the point of view of its approximation to the usual form, and is the least willing to violate established ideas. They decipher and use the information within the means at their disposal.

Obstacles in the exchange of information also occur due to the different status of workers. Information in such communications is filtered both when passing from bottom to top and from top to bottom. When information is passed from the bottom up, often the lower ones have a desire to gain respect from the higher leaders and for this reason they embellish the information. They often tell the manager what he wants to hear. Senior leaders perceive a respectful, polite attitude towards them as a real attitude towards them, although often this expresses only the ratio of positions by status. One has only to remove the leader from his post, as the attitude of the majority of former subordinates towards him will change.

Phonetic barriers - arise due to the indistinguishability of sounds, poor pronunciation, rejection of the pace of speech, and also due to a misunderstanding of the meaning indicated by words, morphemes, sentences.

Any obstacles to the promotion of information through the communication channel disrupt the communication system. Therefore, in such a system, a mechanism for systematic diagnostics of the state of the system should be provided. In particular, it should provide for the possibility of determining the location of barriers at an early stage. This will allow minimizing losses from disruptions in its operation. In particular, functional disorders of the communication system may occur due to a decrease in the bandwidth of communication channels, delaying the passage of information. The most dangerous is the complete “blockage” of even one communication channel, when the flow of information through this channel in both directions stops.

Distortion of information is a fairly common phenomenon in communication systems. Distortion appears in such transmission of information when its meaning is distorted. The loss of information is accompanied by the failure to receive the entire message or part of it.

It is known that even the usual current remarks of superiors are retold by subordinates, interpreted in their own way, sometimes the meaning of what was said is completely distorted. The more stages of information transfer, the greater the likelihood of information distortion. However, this does not in any way apply to geographical distances instantly overcome with the help of technical means. Technical means helped bring the subjects of communications closer. This increased the ability to control the flow of information through communication channels.

Meanwhile, the implementation of communications through technical means deprives the participants of communications of the effect of "live communication". The telephone, although to some extent an analogue of direct communication, does not make it possible to feel the shades of "live speech", facial expressions, and gestures. Even video-interactive two-way communication does not fully compensate for direct public communication. Even if the face of the interlocutor, hand gestures are visible on the monitor screen, nevertheless, there is no feeling of full contact, which makes it possible, in addition to the indicated elements, to feel the so-called fluids (a kind of bioenergy field emitted by a person).

Written communication creates even more obstacles to mutual understanding. If the recipients of the written interaction do not know each other, then the text is completely depersonalized. No letter, even addressed to a loved one who understands all the shades of written words and expressions that evoke memories and ideas, can completely replace “live communication”.

Incorrect or incomplete understanding of the content of the message can be caused by both insufficiency and redundancy of the information contained in the message. The insufficiency of information is filled by applying repeated requests or is conjectured, completed. Excessive information often does not have time to be fully processed, transmitted and comprehended.

Conscious or unintentional distortion of information occurs when written messages are transmitted vertically up and down. In documents that are being prepared for passing down the tier, some of the information that management deems unnecessary to disclose is omitted, some is embellished, and some is commented on in the right light. When sending written messages upwards, negative information is either omitted or commented on in their favor; positive information unfolds at a winning angle, intensifies.

If the manager suspects that the received message has an element of bias, it is necessary to obtain information again from another source that has the opposite point of view in order to subsequently compare them to determine the cause of bias.

Government officials, military, law enforcement agencies, in order to ensure their activities, deliberately create obstacles to the promotion of information. Unlimited dissemination of the entire flow of information between these institutions and the public could cause many administrative difficulties, and in some cases even paralyze their work.

Thus, the communication system in a social organism seems to be no less important than the nervous system in the human body, and the consequences of a failure of the communication system are no less terrible than the results of a malfunction of the nervous system. As noted by Herbert A. Simon, Donald W. Smithburt, Victor A. Thompson, the nervous system also contains a number of elements that perform highly specialized functions: in particular, the sense organs and various organs of the brain. Similarly, the communication system in an organization may also have specialized elements that are largely related to the effectiveness of the communication process.

Distortion of information, propaganda, etc.

First of all, when we talk about this technique, the press and other media come to mind. Indeed, public opinion about what is happening in one's own country and in the world is formed to a large extent through these channels. What we see on the TV screen, read on the Internet, we tend to accept as the truth.

As S. G. Kara-Murza points out, in communication via the Internet, “so far ... the “democracy of noise” with a small dose of reflection and dialogue prevails.” "Stuffing" conflicting information, staged shootings, scandalous breaking news and fake sensations - we constantly feel it on ourselves. This is the so-called noise. Behind the noise, we do not hear or see what is really happening.

It is no coincidence that the notion of information war”, which is discussed using real military terms. So, M. Libitsky in 1995 introduced the term "information blockade" (isolation from the flows important information). The information war is also called the war of knowledge.

But the manipulation of information often makes it possible to do without military action. The entire Cold War (the confrontation between the US and the USSR) was built on propaganda. It can be said that open hostilities were avoided thanks to the Cold War.

Information warfare is the use of information to attack information.

M. Libicki

The Frenchman Jacques Ellul proposed to distinguish between vertical and horizontal views. propaganda. Vertical propaganda goes "from above", from the leader through the media to the masses. So-called horizontal propaganda means that people influence each other by expressing their opinions.

Two options are possible in the information field: in the first of them, a person receives a fact that does not correspond to the truth, in the second, the facts are in place, but such an interpretation is offered that is beneficial to the manipulator.

Of course, the manipulation of information is not limited to the military.

Reception default often used in Everyday life. We all subconsciously believe that it is better to remain silent than to lie. By hiding some of the information, we seem to be doing nothing special, and if they pin it to the wall, you can always say that we forgot, did not attach importance, or did not want to worry the interlocutor.

Specialists also use the term "selection" when only specially selected facts are presented to the interlocutor. In advertisements, we often see an eye-catching slogan, such as "100% better sound," a footnote and, in small letters, "Compared to the 1980 model." Not everyone will read footnotes!

Another example: in Egypt, they offer an inexpensive photo opportunity on a camel. The owners of the camel will not immediately tell you about an important trifle: for them to command the camel to descend and give you the opportunity to dismount, you will have to pay extra.

Distortion information may vary in nature. Some details or their significance can be underestimated or exaggerated, the main thing is the distortion of proportions - as if you are looking into a distorted mirror. The dictionary produces a significant list of synonyms: cheating, distorting facts, perversion, juggling. An extreme case of information distortion is when the object is told something opposite to the truth, black is called white and vice versa.

falsification facts implies outright lies. To achieve the best effect, a mixture of real facts with lies is usually used, and the greater the percentage of true facts, the easier it is to introduce false ones.

Another way of manipulating information is called disorientation. The subject is given information that is irrelevant in order to distract him from the essence of the matter. Subspecies of disorientation are flattery or slander.

The "weapon" of information wars is words. Our perception of reality largely depends on what words journalists choose. Thus, some German sources call the concentration camps "penalty", distorting the terrible reality of the Second World War. "Deathbreaker" is a word with an easily readable internal form. Almost as intimidating is "murderer." But the word "killer" entered the Russian language, which seems to mean the same thing, but does not affect the deep strings, and it began to be perceived, perhaps, almost like a profession - no better and no worse than others.

Manipulators often use the bluff technique. The term "bluff" comes from poker: a player pretends to have stronger cards in his hand in order to force his comrades to play the game in a way that is beneficial to him. However, sometimes it is beneficial to pretend to be losing, upset, and this can also be called a bluff.

The manipulator can bluff by telling mythical, fictional facts and watching the reaction. For example, this is how investigators sometimes act, reporting the detention of accomplices or non-existent evidence. They often bluff in advertising: the video will report that the company is successful, well-known, has been working on the market for a long time and there is a queue for products, but in fact this company can only start its work and has nothing to boast about yet. The same bluff in advertising can be the assertion that there are very few discounted goods left in the warehouse.

Of course, bluff is often used in politics, in military operations, in relations between firms - business negotiations, etc. In essence, bluff is a variant of juggling and distorting information, most often in the direction of exaggeration.

In Leonid Solovyov's story The Enchanted Prince, a qadi makes an unequal deal: a huge lake with a garden and a house is exchanged for a donkey. To make the deal seem fairer, the qadi reformulates both clauses: the first calls “the house, the garden and the reservoir belonging to them”, and gives the donkey the proud name “Silver” (Kumysh) and indicates its weight in the contract. It turns out that a house and a garden with a slightly sounding pond are exchanged for four pounds and seven and a half pounds of silver. After some time, the qadi made a second deal: a valuable lake was exchanged for a sparrow, and for the sake of paperwork, the qadi named the sparrow Almaz. These are examples of information manipulation: there seems to be no direct deception in the documents.

An incompetent person can come across as a reasonably savvy professional by bluffing and acting confident. A bluff can also be called a statement that an employee will quit if they do not raise his salary, or jump off the roof in case of dismissal. David Lieberman argues that in order to recognize a bluff, one must learn to distinguish between feigned and true confidence. If a person pays too much attention to how he looks in the eyes of others, he probably does not have too much self-confidence. The liar overacts, avoids eye contact, uses too many gestures.

An incompetent person can come across as a savvy professional by bluffing and acting confident.

How to reduce your vulnerability?

1. Always ask yourself the question: who benefits from presenting information in this way, who benefits from such a picture of the world? Be aware that "the whole truth" will not be told to you.

2. Make a conscious decision not to participate in information wars. Ask yourself, "What would change in my own life if I didn't know about it?" Turn off the TV. Do not pass on unverified information on social networks and in personal conversations.

Athletics competitions USSR - USA. Two are running. The American won. Soviet newspapers reported: “In the 100 meters, the Soviet athlete came one of the first. The American runner was penultimate."

Joke

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(fragmentary) information

Distortion of information and disinformation

Please note that the information you receive may be:

1) delivered as misinformation directly to you or this source information;

2) deliberately distorted by the source;

3) changed - arbitrarily or involuntarily - in the course of its transmission.

Oral messages circulating through horizontal and informal channels are less susceptible to distortions and directed misinformation(although rumors can be launched to misinform).

Let us also remember that information intended for managers (organizations, regions, states) is also distorted: usually embellished because of the eternal desire to please the authorities, to receive rewards, to avoid punishment.

Although it happens and vice versa(to “set up” a colleague, boss): information deliberately portrays the situation as just extremely lousy.

How to analyze information foridentifying misrepresentations and disinformation?

The following criteria may be used.

At intentional disinformation(which has already been received) is most often used as a deliberate lie, as well as a refined half-truth, gradually pushing the perceivers to false judgments, decisions, to those actions that are needed by the disinformer, the manipulator.

The most common misinformation techniques used in manipulation are:

1) direct concealment of facts;

2) biased selection of data;

3) violation of logical and temporal connections between events;

4) truthful information, but in such a context (with the addition of a false fact or hint) that it is perceived as a lie;

5) presentation of the most important data against a bright background of distracting information;

6) mixing heterogeneous opinions and facts;

7) communication of information in such words that can be interpreted in different ways;

8) hiding the key details of the fact.

distortion, arising in the process of relaying the original information, most often occur due to:

1) transmission of only part of the message;

2) retelling what he heard in his own words ("damaged phone");

3) passing texture through the prism of subjective-personal relations.

For successful confrontation intentional disinformation follows:

a) distinguish between facts and opinions;

b) ask yourself the question: “Is this source of information, due to its position, able to have access to the reported facts?”;

c) take into account the subjective (self-conceit, fantasies) characteristics of the source and its intended relationship to the output message;

d) it is mandatory to use duplicate channels for obtaining information;

e) exclude all unnecessary intermediate links in the transmission of information;

f) remember that it is especially easy, with confidence, to perceive the disinformation that you expected or would very much like to receive.

Dealing with inaccurate, incomplete and fragmented

(fragmentary) information

What needs to be done to clarify the information, increase its completeness? What attempts can help formulate hypotheses, give meaning to facts that at first glance seem to be scattered or mixed?

First of all, in this case, you need to be able to disregard one's own prejudices. If you underestimate the enemy ("we will crush Dudayev with one airborne regiment in 2 hours"), then you will always try to exclude a priori certain hypotheses about him and 9 to 10, which he will catch you on if he deliberately threw in the information.

The United States underestimated the spirit of independence of the Vietnamese, the Israelis underestimated the ability of the Palestinians to revolt in the occupied territories, Western entrepreneurs underestimated the Japanese “offensive” in the 70s, Hitler underestimated the potential capabilities of the USSR and its apparatus of government.

Although it is easy to express the principle of disregarding one's prejudices, it is difficult to apply it, since the same mistakes are not often made.

Here, again, the method can help us "circulation". Incomplete and inaccurate information can be clarified and supplemented by specialists of your own company who are closely involved in the same problems and solve similar problems. Independent experts, scientists working on the same subject to which this incomplete and/or inaccurate information relates can also help.

The method can help "synthesis", when we combine all the pieces of information relating to one problem, subject, process (company, etc.) in order to create a general idea of the activity (action) of the studied subject, organization, process. This is not always easy because parts are often missing or in the wrong shape.

And in the first and second cases, it is important to find a second and third source of information that is important or very important. In a word, during the "synthesis" we can resort to such sources of information as highly qualified specialists of your company, outside scientists, experts, specialists, newspapers, magazines, Internet sites, etc.

The main (and sometimes the only solution), including in order to avoid the trap of not falling for disinformation, is to solicit the opinion of completely different persons(not directly associated with you, independent experts). This will allow not only to compare opinions, but also to obtain information on certain assumptions and even more.

There are three or four tricks that allow you to get probabilistic hypotheses.

The "expansion" method is that for the data available, the most appropriate explanation is sought. Often, when the formulation of several hypotheses is completed, contradictions are found. In this case, it is important to do the following:

1) find the information that is able to confirm either the first or second hypothesis;

2) discard the hypothesis that is not confirmed

Of course, in the first place, one should analyze information about the worst-case scenario, but not vice versa.

2. "Intention" Method consists in discovering that actor whose intentions include the latest facts, the information received. But you can not think for someone!

You just need to put yourself in his place to understand what game is he playing to infer his possible actions. Based on this, many hypotheses are constructed regarding his intentions and each of them is investigated (as they are explained by information). Finally, after comparing the hypotheses with the available data, we select the hypothesis (or hypotheses) that covers the largest range of observations, information.

Imagine, for example, Japan: small islands (about half of France), a strong industrial state, but practically devoid of raw materials (and this, among other things, is manifested in the fact that she does not really like all of Asia, especially her closest neighbors - Koreans and Chinese). Under such conditions, one of the most important issues that the Japanese are solving is the supply of raw materials, food.

Looking at the map, you find that Siberia, with its huge resources, is relatively close and has direct access to it. From this we can draw the following conclusions: about Japan's interest in establishing good relations with Russia; about the appearance among Japanese entrepreneurs of those who can enter into a criminal conspiracy with Russian customs officers on the smuggling of raw materials, etc.

The quality of analysis and interpretation depends to a large extent on the professional affiliation of the expert to whom the analyst refers. When analyzing a business organization, this means that the most appropriate person to interpret certain information is the person with responsibility in the relevant functional area (production, marketing, finance, research and development, etc.)

One of the first attempts to classify the various types of distortion of information was made by the Arab thinker Abd-ar-Rahman al-Jawbari in his book "Torn Veils". He classifies the distortion of information based on the social position of a person.

The work describes the tricks of not only real people, but also mythical creatures - angels and genies. Abd-ar-Rahman al-Jawbari identifies certain categories of people for whom deceit has become a means of subsistence: gypsies, magicians, imaginary cripples, etc. The disadvantage of this classification is the fact that, firstly, the same method of distorting information can be used by people of different social strata, and secondly, non-existent figures (genies, etc.) were also taken into account in this classification.

Another classification of information distortion is proposed by the English philosopher Francis Bacon. In his New Organon, he shared the delusions and called them "idols". There were several such idols.

"Idols of the race" are delusions related to the nature of the human mind.

"Idols of the cave" are people's delusions that are related to their individual life experiences.

"Idols of the Square" are errors that are based on a misinterpretation of words. Since words often have several different meanings, communication partners can put different meanings into them. "Idols of the Square" were divided by Bacon into two groups - the names of non-existent things (for example, fate) and the names of existing, but not clearly defined things (for example, humidity, cloudiness).

"Idols of the theater" are misconceptions that arise from incorrect scientific theories or erroneous concepts.

Orientalist A. A. Ignatenko offers a classification that he developed while studying ancient oriental treatises. The author subdivides the distortion of information:

- misinformation or deceit,
- amphiboly (ambiguity of the statement),
- substitution (of things, people),
- perjury,
- breaking an oath
- false letters (fake and anonymous),
- slander
- deliberately false predictions,
- pretense,
- provocations,
- creation of false circumstances.

And although the listed factors are also relevant in modern life, this classification lacks a single basis for assessing the actions of subjects distorting information.

Yu. V. Shcherbatykh proposed two different classifications. In one of them, the basis for classification is the presence or absence of benefits from the distortion of information (Table 7.1). It is based on a "pragmatic" approach, i.e. attention is drawn to who mainly benefits from the untrue message:

o the deceiver benefits by harming another person;
o the deceiver benefits without harming the other person;
o deception without profit;
o deception in favor of another person;
o no one benefits from deceit (fantasy).

Table 7.1. Classification of information distortion (Yu. V. Shcherbatykh)

Yu. V. Shcherbatykh also offers another, "polar" classification of deceit. It is based on the number of communication objects:

o Self-deception. This can include illusions and situations where a person deceives himself, and what can be a form of psychological protection.
o If two people are involved in communication, then the reason for the distortion of information can be in three links: in the one who transmits the false message, in the channel for transmitting information, and in the one who perceives the information incorrectly. Each of these points can be divided into several sub-points. For example, errors in the information transmission channel can occur at the verbal (when the interlocutor misunderstands words) and non-verbal (when gestures are misunderstood) levels.
o Group deception - one person deceives many.
o Bulk - One group misleads another group of people.
o Two people mislead each other.
o Mutual deception, in which negative or positive emotions distort the mutual perception of people by each other, as a result of which an objective assessment becomes impossible.

An interesting classification is also offered by V. V. Kostikov in his speech in the popular program "What is to be done?", director of the AiF Strategic Planning Center, former press secretary of the first President of Russia B. N. Yeltsin.

o Ideological deception is the most fatal kind, which leads to the most catastrophic consequences.
o Pre-election fraud, when all that has accumulated from the truth, lies, half-truths spills out on people.
o Imitation social policy when people pretend that they are doing something, but in fact the standard of living of the people either worsens or stands still. This is a very dangerous form of deception that we are seeing now in the current cabinet policy. Although, of course, everyone can do nothing at their workplace.
o Hiding the truth is a very noble kind of deception.
o Bluff is a fairly common type of deception, especially in foreign policy. This is what it does now

North Korea threatening America with an atomic strike is a typical example of such a bluff. Although in reality it is just a demonstration that creates a hotbed of tension in the region.

o The deception that special services are engaged in is a special, most hidden kind of deception. They often deceive even their own governments.
o And two more types of deceit, which are interconnected - diplomatic and foreign policy, when ambassadors deceive their minister.

This is the point of view on the distortion of information in the power structures of a person who has experience in situations of insincere business communication. And although this classification considers the distortion of information only through the prism of politics, however, it is of undoubted interest for a deeper understanding of this phenomenon.

Another version of the classification is offered by R. R. Garifullin. He singles out bluff (deception, misrepresentation) as disinformation, in which, on the basis of a distortion of information, someone is convinced that something desired, but not existing, exists. Thus, a bluff is an artificial delusion.

R. R. Garifullin considers the most effective method of bluffing to be semi-bluff (half-truth or half-lie), which are based on cunning and the ability to take advantage of the stupidity of others. R. R. Garifullin identifies seven semi-bluff techniques.

1. Silence (or transmission of incomplete information), as a result of which the recipient makes a mistake.
2. Falsification (rigging) is the transfer of deliberately false information on the merits of the issue under consideration (perjury, false statements and denials, fabrication of facts, etc.).
3. Disorientation (substitution) - the transfer of irrelevant true information in order to divert attention from the essence of the issue under consideration.
4. Empty talk (verbiage) - broadcasting both true and false information that is not related to the essence of the issue.
5. Masking - an attempt to hide any essential information with the help of various non-essential information. There are four options:
- o disguising an essential lie with a non-essential lie;
- o disguising an essential truth with a non-essential lie;
- o masking an essential lie with an inessential truth;
- o masking essential truth with non-essential truth.
6. A half-truth is a mixture of essential true information with essential false information:
- o irrational half-truth - it is any chaotic mixing of true and false information;
- o rational half-truth - a logically ordered combination of truth and falsehood based on one or another rational error. This may be a substitution of concepts, a perversion of the meaning of what was said, a tendentious interpretation of the text;
- o dialectical half-truth - it is an ordered combination of truth and falsehood, when the very fact of the connection is recognized as a completely acceptable "dialectical" contradiction.
7. Reformalization - in the process of formalization of knowledge, deliberate distortions are introduced, for example, when translating from one language to another; multiple repetition of information (in accordance with the principle "truth is a repeatedly repeated lie"), alternation of heterogeneous information (used to reduce the level of critical thinking, distraction).

However, it should be noted that this classification shows the ways of distorting information, but does not give the basis on which it is carried out, does not take into account the attitude of the person himself to the distortion of information and the degree of his interest in this action.

The Russian philosopher D. I. Dubrovsky in his classification distinguishes:

- deliberate deceit (selfish or selfless, those. dictated by considerations of duty, tact or caused by coercion, blackmail) and unintentional;
- malicious and virtuous;
- half-truth;
- self-deception.

G. V. Grachev and I. K. Melnik offer the following components to determine lies and deceit in a negative aspect:

- intentionality (consciousness) of action;
- distortion of reality (reality, facts, information);
- a socially disapproved, ignoble, primarily selfish goal, as a result of which one person or group of persons gains an advantage over another person or group of persons who are harmed.

Although they further note that the selection as a criterion for assessing the social approval (disapproval) of the goals of a subject who resorts to distortion of information as a form of behavior is a rather vulnerable moment.

The American scientist P. Ekman divides the distortion of information into two main forms - silence and distortion. By default, true information is hidden, but false information is not reported. When distorted (falsifications) not only is the truth hidden, but false information is presented instead.

The most meaningful analysis of this category was carried out in the works of V. V. Znakov. The analysis of existing concepts and definitions made it possible to structure and generalize the concepts included in the category of "distortion of information". And although this classification does not reflect the various intentions of the subject, such as achieving selfish goals or justice, avoiding one's own punishment or protecting another person, nevertheless, this classification seems to most fully illuminate the position of the subject distorting information.

So, V.V. Znakov proposes to characterize the differences according to three main features:

- factual truth or false statement;
- Vera speaking into the truth or falsity of a statement;
- the presence or absence of the speaker intentions mislead the listener.

These three features provide a basis for classifying the varieties of truth and psychological analysis of differences from its antipodes - untruth, lies, lies and deceit (Table 7.2).

Table 7.2.