Aging represents the most significant prerequisite to be influenced by disinformation or fraudulent media messages on the internet. The elderly are a group that consumes these messages and also spreads them most often. With the gradual aging of the population and enlargement of the elderly group, the society-wide problem further escalates. The topic of the diploma thesis is focused on the issues of fake news and the spread of disinformation online within the elderly group aged 65 and more years. The thesis aims to describe in detail the aspects on which the elderly evaluate the credibility of news and which signs of fake news they are able to identify. The theoretical section defines the fundamental terms relevant to fake news and describes the state of media literacy of the Czech elderly in the context of current research. In the practical section, a qualitative study is conducted in the form of semi structured interviews with the elderly to answer the research questions.

Title Discourse analysis of disinformation in Czech media during the 2019 European Parliament election Abstract The thesis focuses on the content of fake news websites in the Czech online environment during the 2019 European Parliament election. Using the method of discourse analysis, the author characterizes main features of the discourse consisting of content published by selected six fake news websites. The main goal of the thesis is to analyse the discourse of selected websites and to define the problematic aspects of disinformation websites for Czech society during the elections. The emphasis is put on the prevailing narratives and topics leading the discussion within these websites. Through deeper look into the narratives as well as the authors and main actors of the discourse, the author reveals ideologies and thoughts which fuel the fake news content. At the same time, the author examines the extent to which the discourse emphasized emotions and polarization by using the "us" and "them" narrative. Specific language techniques and manipulation tools are then analysed within broader context. Furthermore, using the methods of critical discursive analysis referring to the works of Norman Fairclough and Teun van Dijk, the thesis defines how the analysed discourse could influence power relations within...

The master's thesis is devoted to the analysis of the impact of the dissemination of information and disinformation in media about the disease caused by the COVID-19 virus in the Czech Republic in the period 02/2020-02/2021. The aim of the thesis is to analyse selected news portals and identifying the possible impact of the information on the Internet on public behaviour. The purpose of the theoretical part is a brief definition of the basic concepts, mapping the course of information in the Czech Republic and comparison with similar situations from the past. Subsequently, the theoretical part contains a description of the means of communication used to inform citizens about the event. The aim of the practical part is to show how the course of the spread of the COVID-19 virus influenced the traffic to online news websites, what articles appeared in the Internet environment, and finally I focus on the analysis of whether there was a change in the behaviour of citizens in the Internet environment in the form of traffic to news websites, retail sales and changes in work habits.

The thesis focuses on "Migration and refugees in the current globalized world with regard to social aspects" and its key objective is to map attitudes of the population in the Czech Republic to refugees and migrants in the shadow of the European migration crisis. The thesis consists of two parts: theoretical and empirical. The theoretical part contains a detailed presentation of the refugeeism and migration phenomena. It provides basic definitions of the terms "migration", "migrant" and "refugee". Further, it also describes the history and present of migration and refugees and provides prediction of the future. A deep analysis is provided of the current European migration and refugee crisis and its social, political, legislative, economic and security aspects. The thesis also focuses on causes of migration, its impacts, cultural conflicts and potential solutions. The theoretical part also contains an analysis of social work with migrants and refugees in the Czech Republic. The thesis also addresses the role of media and disinformation (the so-called fake news) on the Internet. The theoretical part also presents different approaches of individual countries to migration and refugees across the continents. The second part of the thesis is empirical and it uses the strategy of quantitative research;...

The thesis follows up a topic of fake news within the borders of Czech Republic. This frequently discussed phenomena is often linked to the pro-Kremlin propaganda, whose aim is to evoke fear across the citizens, as well as raise distrust towards reigning authorities, western institutions, a functionality of liberal democracy and at last but not least - distrust towards public media and mainstream media in general. This is being achieved by production of fake news, also known as fictive, false or manipulative articles, that are being spread through the social media. Despite its low credibility the news often make their way into the public discussion, forming the general opinion and as a result affecting many political decisions. In order to follow this topic up further, I will put in use the Adam Klein's concept, also known as information laundering.This concept describes the ways how these hateful articles, personal opinions and straight up false news are getting legitimised within the online world and subsequently spread through the social media under the disguise of respectable journalism. The thesis is aiming to map out the entire sphere of fake news media, its websites and Facebook and YouTube social profiles as well as describe individual aspects of the entire mechanism using quantitative analysis. In...

The master's thesis deals with disinformation websites' migration crisis framing regarding the Czech Republic. The thesis is based on the theory of social constructivism, which considers a speech act to be a crucial factor of securitization. The author proceeds mainly from the work of Thierry Balzacq, who reckons media to be the main securitization actors. The theoretical base of this thesis is supplemented by the theory of moral panic, which comes into being due to impact of securitization of particular person/group/institution. The thesis researches the way how migration crisis was securitized from 2015 to 2016. Therefore content analysis and discourse analysis are used. The articles, which are subjected to the research were published by Parlamentni listy, Sputnik and Aeronet. Articles were subjected to content analysis so as the author was able to find out which keywords emerged most frequently. Particular phrases were linked to specific themes, which consisted of "Security", "Criticism of government" and "National identity". After the quantitative analysis, the articles were subjected to qualitative analysis based on James Paul Gee's method, which allows the author to understand the used discourse and the context, within which the discourse emerged. Particular articles are then researched...

of diploma thesis ‚Seek Russians behind everything: Critical research of "Russian disinformation campaign" discourse in the Czech republic'. Author: Bc. Adam Čech Supervised by: Dagmar Rychnovská, M.A., LL.M., Ph.D. Study programme: International relations Year of work defence: 2019 This study researches the "Russian disinformation campaign threat" discourse, that was established in the Czech republic since 2014. The study utilizes a method termed for the purpose of this work as "lesser discourse analysis". It explores the origins and influences that played a role in creation of a specific understanding of the topic. Subsequently it engages in a critical analysis of the discourse and assesses whether the understanding of the Russian hybrid threat, especially regarding the disinformation, is legitimate and based on known facts and correct interpretation of them, or whether it is not (partially) based on delusions, myths, logical shortcuts, misinformation (or possibly disinformation) on part of the creators and active participators of the discourse. The study also presents a set of recommendations to "straighten" the discourse on this important topic. The study engages in analysing of the process of the agenda-setting regarding the topic through the lenses of "securitization theory ". It identifies...

This thesis focuses on the analysis of a possible formation of the EU disinformation policy by norm entrepreneurs including Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, France and Germany. The work is based on the theory of social constructivism and the concept of norms. Through the analytical framework of the norm life cycle, it seeks to find out how the disinformation policy can be integrated into the EU by norm entrepreneurs, and what normative clashes can be found in the process of the birth of the disinformation policy of the EU. A possible formation of the EU disinformation policy is analysed through three stages of the norm life cycle - norm emergence, norm cascade and norm internalisation. In the norm emergence part, the Baltic states with France and Germany are examined in terms of their motivation and efforts to promote a disinformation-related norm. The norm cascade part discusses a normative clash of a regulation norm and the norm of freedom of expression. Lastly, the norm internalisation part analyses the challenges of the incorporation of the norm in the system once the previous stages are accomplished. The research has shown that even though a common regulation norm of the EU is inevitable, the EU should introduce a cooperative mechanism of its member states and private actors to prevent clash with...

Conspiracy Theories and Politics in Slovakia: How Conspiracy Thinking Relates to Political Opinions and Preferences Katarína Kondrótová Abstract (English) Conspiracy theories have become a fashionable buzzword, appearing across the internet, the media, and political speeches with great frequency. However, there are many misconceptions associated with them, making them more divisive and mysterious than they need to be. The present contribution seeks to remedy that by providing a deep dive into conspiracy theories. It examines the multitude of their possible definitions and conceptualizations, their existence across history, as well as past research findings about why they appeal to us. In the second half, conspiracy theories are presented through new research regarding their relation to political and ideological preferences of Slovaks. The findings are in line with past studies, showing a relationship between stronger conspiracy beliefs and extremist thinking, preference of authoritarian policies, and low faith in authorities. A regression analysis also uncovered a strong correlation between conspiracy beliefs and the political party the respondents had voted for, as well as their preference of the politics and ideologies of 'the West' (EU, USA) or 'the East' (Russian federation).

(English) The purpose of this diploma thesis was to analyze a role of Sputnik Česká republika (Sputnik Czech Republic) website as an information source in the ecosystem of the so-called alternative media. The main research method was quantitative content analysis. In the practical part of the work - using available metadata sraped with Outwit Hub -, this thesis described content of articles published on Sputnik Česká republika and other selected alternative media. Next, with the use of online marketing tools and other sources, it compared similarities of content and user behaviour. Next, it compared similarities of content and user behaviour on a sample of selected websites. The result of this was evaluation of possible importance of Sputnik Česká republika in the ecosystem of alternative media and pointing out some new elements and connections within this system. Possible usage of this thesis comprises follow-up research and education in fields of information and media literacy, especially in the issue evaluation of information sources.