The phenomenon of trust in the digital space: modeling decentralized communications in terms of modern information wars
Research Article
Acknowledgments
The article was compiled within the framework of the implementation of the state assignment of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation No. 1023112800142-3-5.4.1 “Technologies for countering information wars among young people” (FSRN-2024-0009).
How to Cite
Sergodeeva E.A., Gapich A.E., Erokhin A.M. The phenomenon of trust in the digital space: modeling decentralized communications in terms of modern information wars. Humanities of the South of Russia. 2025. Vol. 14. No. 3. P. 96-106. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18522/2227-8656.2025.3.8 (in Russ.).
Abstract
Objective of the study is to research various instruments for shaping and transformation of digital trust in terms of decentralized communications and information wars as a complex of disinformation attacks aimed at destroying traditional hierarchical structures of trust.
Methodological basis of the study. The authors use actor-network theory, classical sociological theories of structuration and social systems, as well as the methodology of Social Network Analysis (SNA). The methodological framework is also based on a critical deconstruction of the epistemological foundations of traditional sociological knowledge, which makes it possible to understand digital trust as a phenomenon in which the processes of legitimization, symbolic exchange and distribution of power are closely intertwined with its technological determinants.
Results of the study. Three models of mechanisms for the shaping and transformation of digital trust in terms of decentralized communications have been developed and tested; the conclusion is that the self-organizing, flexible and decentralized nature of modern communication systems allows for high resilience even under extreme information loads.
Prospects of the study. The results presented in the article open up new directions for interdisciplinary research of digital trust. Interdisciplinary collaboration between sociologists, cybersecurity specialists, and experts in the field of blockchain technologies will improve theoretical and practical aspects of modeling decentralized communication systems.
Keywords:
digital trust, actor-network theory, information warfare, disinformation, modeling
References
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Castells M. The Rise of the Network Society. The Information Age. Vol. 1. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell. 2009; 566 p.
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Epstein J. M. Generative Social Science: Studies in Agent-Based Computational Modeling. Princeton: Princeton University Press. 2006; 356 p.
Foucault M. Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison. Pantheon Books. Michigan: Vintage Books. 1979; 333 p.
Fuchs C. Social Media: A Critical Introduction. London: Sage Publications. 2017; 400 р.
Giddens A. The Consequences of Modernity. Stanford: Stanford University Press. 1990; 186 р.
Giddens A. The Constitution of Society: Outline of the Theory of Structuration. Berkeley, Los Angeles: University of California Press. 1986; 402 р.
Latour B. Reassembling the Social: An Introduction to Actor-Network-Theory. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2005; 312 р.
Tapscott D., Tapscott A. Blockchain Revolution: How the Technology Behind Bitcoin Is Changing Money Business, and the World. New York: Penguin. 2016; 384 р.
Van Dijck J., Poell T., de Waal M. The Platform Society: Public Values in a Connective World. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2018; 400 р.
Wasserman S., Faust K. Social Network Analysis: Methods and Applications. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1994; 820 р.
Zuboff S. The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power. New York: Public Affairs. 2019; 704 p.
Article
Received: 25.03.2025
Accepted: 19.06.2025
Citation Formats
Other cite formats:
APA
Sergodeeva, E. A., Gapich, A. E., & Erokhin, A. M. (2025). The phenomenon of trust in the digital space: modeling decentralized communications in terms of modern information wars. Humanities of the South of Russia, 14(3), 96-106. https://doi.org/10.18522/2227-8656.2025.3.8
Section
PHILOSOPHY, CULTURE AND SOCIETY
