Adolescents, wartime divisive propaganda, and bullying: how are they related?

Relevance. The growing role of the information component in russia’s hybrid war against Ukraine and its use of divisive propaganda emphasize the urgent need to study its impact on adolescents, especially in the educational environment. This article aims to answer the question of whether and from which channels adolescents are exposed to polarizing messages and whether such messages influence changes in school bullying. Methods and methodology. The study consisted of three stages and aimed to assess the relationship between exposure to divisive messages and the formation of prejudices that can lead to bullying. Methods included desk research (content analysis of social media by media experts), a series of focus group interviews, and a national survey of students in grades 5-9 (n = 5,351). Results. The content analysis showed that divisive messages about refugees, internally displaced persons (IDPs), and regional differences are predominantly spread through russian/pro-russian accounts. In contrast, language-based divisive messages often came from Ukrainian accounts. The focus groups identified TikTok and Instagram as the main channels adolescents are exposed to such messages. Respondents also reported that they had witnessed polarizing narratives being used as a pretext for bullying in real-life situations. The survey showed that 60.5% of students have been exposed to propaganda messages of division, primarily through social media (39%). According to Fisher’s angular transformation criterion, adolescents who were exposed to such messages were significantly more likely to agree with the negative stereotypes spread by propaganda (e.g., φemp.=12.043 for prejudice based on region of origin, φemp.=12.998 for language-related prejudice). Conclusion. The results of the study confirm that propaganda divisive messages contributes to the spread of prejudice, which can lead to bullying based on differences in war-related experiences. The study emphasizes the need for media literacy programs to counteract the influence of propaganda and the role of parents as points of intervention to stop the influence of propaganda.