Media Hate as an Instigator of Information Warfare and Social Destabilization

This presentation examines media hate speech as an instrument of information warfare and a factor contributing to social destabilization, democratic erosion, and threats to national security, with particular attention to Russia's war against Ukraine. The presentation explores the role of hate speech in Russian information warfare, identifying three principal functions: the dehumanization of Ukrainians, the justification of military aggression, and the mobilization of public support for hostile policies. It examines how discriminatory narratives and hostile rhetoric circulate through traditional media, social networks, and digital communication platforms, including their international dissemination. Special attention is given to the manifestations of hate speech within Ukrainian society during wartime, including linguistic, religious, political, and social divisions. The presentation highlights the risks associated with polarization, the normalization of hostility, and the weakening of democratic culture. A substantial part of the analysis focuses on artificial intelligence and deepfake technologies as emerging instruments of information manipulation. Through international case studies, the presentation illustrates how synthetic media can impersonate political leaders, celebrities, journalists, and other public figures, facilitate disinformation campaigns, undermine public trust, and contribute to gender-based harassment. The presentation also examines regulatory responses, including the European Union's Artificial Intelligence Act, the Digital Services Act, and Denmark's proposed legal framework for protecting individuals against unauthorized digital imitations of their appearance and voice. The presentation concludes that effective responses to media hate and AI-enabled manipulation require an integrated approach combining legal safeguards, platform accountability, technological transparency, rapid intervention, media literacy, and public awareness. Particular emphasis is placed on protecting human dignity, democratic resilience, and fundamental rights in an increasingly AI-driven information environment.