The Problem of Disinformation in the Modern World and Ways to Combat it: A Scoping Review

Ackground. The problem of disinformation has become a crucial problem initiated, and supported, by the explosive growth of technology and means and sources of communication. This study reviewed 70 articles on the topic of disinformation in various areas of the sphere of society such as: social, economic, political and cultural. For example, scientific articles about disinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic in different countries of the world. Purpose. The purpose of this scoping review is to determine the main causes and consequences of disinformation; to summarize the impact of disinformation on society and summarize what methods of struggle the researchers offer in their articles on the topic. Methods. The domain review was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA-ScR guidelines. Articles were searched using the Scopus database. Results. The search resulted in 791 entries. 70 of these entries met the inclusion criteria. Most of these entries were in the form of articles, 4 entries were conference papers and 4 more entries were chapters from a book. 9 characteristics were extracted from 70 studies and subsequently grouped into three categories: location of disinformation, type of disinformation, and target audience for disinformation. Conclusion. This paper identifies the main areas of dissemination of disinformation, describes its consequences and impact on society, presents methods for detecting disinformation, as well as methods for combating this problem and ways to counter the factors influencing the spread of disinformation.