Analysing Fake News through Linguistics: Detecting Manipulation Tactics

Authors

  • Iryna Moyseyenko Kyiv National Linguistic University, Faculty of Germanic Philology and Translation, Department of Germanic Philology. Kyiv, Ukraine Author https://orcid.org/0009-0009-5284-9376
  • Iryna Odobetska Vinnytsia Mykhailo Kotsiubynskyi State Pedagogical University, Department of Journalism, Advertising and Public Relations. Vinnytsia, Ukraine Author https://orcid.org/0009-0006-2265-1842
  • Andrii Kovalenko Sumy State Pedagogical University named after A. S. Makarenko, Faculty of Foreign and Slavic Philology, Department of English Philology and Linguodidactics. Sumy, Ukraine Author https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6439-5089
  • Vladyslav Mozalov Institute of Strategic Communications, National Defense University of Ukraine, Department of Internal Communications. Kyiv, Ukraine Author https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1764-9063
  • Olha Rud Sumy State Pedagogical University named after A. S. Makarenko, Faculty of Foreign and Slavic Philology, Department of Ukrainian Language and Literature. Sumy, Ukraine Author https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5985-2422

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.56294/mr2025162

Keywords:

fake news, linguistic analysis, manipulative strategies, disinformation, media linguistics, stylistic features

Abstract

Introduction: The purpose of this study is to look at how fake news in English is written and how it affects people’s opinions. This topic is necessary because disinformation now has a major impact on our views about the COVID-19 pandemic, politics and climate change.
Methods: The research includes several strategies like content analysis, discourse analysis, psycholinguistic techniques and comparative analysis. Samples of fake news articles that totaled 75 were selected from different social media sites and were compared with other news stories on the same subjects.
Results: It has been shown that fake news often uses strong language, makes exaggerations, states things in a clear way and alludes to respected authorities for support. The most commonly used techniques are playing on people’s fears, changing the facts and using language that divides people. If we compare these articles to authenticate news, we notice many differences in their style, tone and what they try to achieve.
Conclusions: Fake news becomes more emotional and easy to share because of the features of language used in them. It points out that developing skills to spot misleading news and creating automated systems to catch misleading content is very important and it asks for further research from experts in other fields.

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Published

2025-06-13

How to Cite

1.
Iryna Moyseyenko, Odobetska I, Kovalenko A, Mozalov V, Rud O. Analysing Fake News through Linguistics: Detecting Manipulation Tactics. Metaverse Basic and Applied Research [Internet]. 2025 Jun. 13 [cited 2025 Jul. 6];4:162. Available from: https://mr.ageditor.ar/index.php/mr/article/view/162