The Arctic in the Post-Truth Era: Risks to International Security and Counteraction Scenarios

Annotation

The article examines the impact of the post-truth phenomenon on the perception of international security in the Arctic region. The main focus is on analyzing information distortions in the media resources of leading foreign mass media outlets (The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph). Based on content analysis and discourse analysis of 176 publications from 2022 to 2025, the study reveals that the Western media systematically constructs an image of the Arctic as a zone of permanent crisis and military-political confrontation, where Russia and China are presented as key sources of instability. The actions of Western states, in contrast, are presented as necessary and defensive. The authors identify characteristic post-truth techniques: use of emotionally charged headlines, selective presentation of facts, distortion of cause-and-effect relationships, and imposition of simplified narratives. The article assesses the risks of such destructive information influence, including growing mistrust between Arctic states, escalation of conflict potential, and reduction of opportunities for international cooperation in scientific, environmental, and economic spheres. Based on the identified trends, two key scenarios for the development of the situation in the region are developed: “acute escalation” and “freezing of cooperation”. In response to these challenges, a system of comprehensive multi-level measures is proposed, including promotion of international information security, creation of objective information resources about the Arctic, improvement of media literacy among the population, and support for expert and scientific contacts to counter manipulative narratives and maintain stability in the Arctic.

About authors

Konstantin S. Zaikov, Dr. Sci. (Hist.), Associate Professor
k.zaikov@narfu.ru, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6479-416X
Northern (Arctic) Federal University named after M.V. Lomonosov, Naberezhnaya Severnoy Dviny, 17, Arkhangelsk, Russia

Denis S. Kortunov, Assistant
d.kortunov@narfu.ru, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-9328-2611
Northern (Arctic) Federal University named after M.V. Lomonosov, Naberezhnaya Severnoy Dviny, 17, Arkhangelsk, Russia

Keywords

post-truth, Arctic, international security, information distortions, mass media, media space, manipulation

DOI

https://doi.org/10.37482/issn2221-2698.2025.61.147

UDC

304.4(985)(045)