Communications. Media. Design

"Ah, It's So Easy to Deceive Me...": The Phenomenon of Political Deepfake in Runet Communication Practices

Svetlana A. Shomova — 2025-12-31

Political deepfakes are a recent addition to our everyday communication landscape, rapidly expanding into the modern media sphere. They offer significant opportunities but also pose serious risks. This article delves into the academic discourse surrounding this phenomenon, exploring key theoretical frameworks for understanding deepfakes (such as taxonomies, classification systems, and verification methods). It proposes a working definition of political deepfakes and identifies their primary forms within the Russian internet space.

Financial Reporting in Russian Business Media: A Key to Enhanced Competitiveness

Olga A. Anaseva — 2025-12-31

The article analyzes how Russian business publications present financial statements of companies, as well as the actions of the enterprises themselves in distributing corporate information. The objects of the work were the newspapers Vedomosti and Kommersant, and media holding RBC. We also analyze the approach of the companies to provide their financial statements and risks associated with incorrect or incomplete information.

Generative soundscapes in exhibition spaces using wireless technologies: methods, implementation and prospects

Polina A. Stolbova — 2025-12-31

The article discusses the possibilities of creating generative soundscapes in exhibition spaces using wireless technologies. The auditory environment becomes an important element of the curatorial idea, enhancing the emotional perception and immersion of the audience in the context of the exhibition. Generative systems allow you to adapt sound scenarios depending on the behavior of visitors and the architecture of the space, and the use of wireless technologies such as BLE beacons and Wi-Fi opens up new horizons for the implementation of dynamic, interactive soundscapes. The article also discusses the prospects for further research, including the development of cross-platform acoustic solutions, personalized acoustic accompaniment, and applications in educational and cultural projects.

Militarization in British Press During the Pandemic

Maria V. Derkacheva — 2025-12-31

In this work, we focus on the language used in the press during the COVID-19 health crisis, using Great Britain as an example. Through content analysis, we examine a sample of three popular British newspapers to identify the use of military language, paying special attention to references to World War II. We trace how the target language has changed over four crucial periods within the two-year pandemic, using our custom database of 9118 articles with the words "covid" and "coronavirus" in headlines. Our findings show that the militarization of language in newspapers with links to World War II (vicarious militarization) reduces negative vocabulary and creates an upbeat tone for media discourse. Additionally, our study confirms that references to heroic feats from World War II are an effective tool for reducing anxiety, although this effect is short-lived.

The Artist’s Book in Library and Museum Practice: The Challenges of Definition

Ekaterina V. Kazeykina — 2025-12-31

The article addresses the problem of defining the artist’s book within library and museum practice. The question of what should be considered an artist’s book has remained contested since the 1970s and is particularly complex in the Russian context, where a single term encompasses both the livre d’artiste and the artist’s book—phenomena of very different nature—while the local tradition is rooted in Futurist books and Soviet samizdat. This raises several methodological questions: where the boundaries of the book as a concept lie, how the status of art is determined, and what role the artist plays in relation to the author of the text. The article examines the current challenges faced by professionals working with artist’s books, which were also the subject of discussion at the international conference on artist’s books held in Moscow in the summer of 2025. The work not only provides an overview of the main conceptual approaches and directions of the debate but also proposes a framework for comparing them that helps to resolve contradictions and identify points of convergence. Methodologically, the study draws on an analysis of both international and Russian theoretical sources and on a comparison of the practices of two institutions with different approaches—the Library for Foreign Literature and the Garage Museum Library. As a result, the article formulates a comprehensive definition of the artist’s book that considers both the specificity of cultural tradition and the contemporary needs of professional practice. The findings can be applied to cataloguing, description, and collection development in libraries and museums.

Analysis of Indonesian Government Policy Encourages Democratization of Media Development

Taufiqurokhman Taufiqurokhman — 2026-01-05

This study aims to analyze government policies aimed at encouraging the democratization of the media, which function as a tool for government control, by examining imbalances between policies that support press freedom and regulations that often limit freedom. Using quantitative methods based on primary and secondary data, the study highlights an analysis of macro- and micro-policies that empower civil society located in large urban areas in Java, with a population of over 60 million people and a sample size of 6,000 online, radio, Internet, and TV media. The results of the research show that government policy has a strong influence on the empowerment of citizens through the media, with a positive correlation of 0.45, and a high level of statistical significance (p=0.000). This emphasizes the importance of policies that promote press freedom and provide optimal space for media expression. The study concludes that the development of media should focus not only on increasing the quantity of media outlets, but also on improving the quality of content, such as editorial independence and news accuracy, to maximize the contribution of the media to the democratization process and empowerment in Indonesia's civil society.

Virtual Beauty: The Phenomenon of Beauty in Digital Fashion and Its Affects

Oksana O. Pertel — 2025-12-31

This article explores the concept of virtual beauty, a burgeoning phenomenon in the digital realm. It examines artworks from the Virtual Beauty exhibition at Somerset House, London, from June to September 2025, and digital fashion projects creating virtual face masks, filters, tattoos, and body make-up. The article's relevance lies in developing a theoretical framework to explain digital tools' role in transforming aesthetic norms and beauty perception. Drawing on H. Foster's "compulsive beauty" and S. Ngai's ‘stuplimity’, the paper offers complementary theoretical approaches to interpret modern aesthetic practices. Both concepts share a methodological focus on revealing a dual emotional response to visual stimuli. "Compulsive beauty" captures the traumatic coexistence of beauty and ugliness, while ‘stuplimity’ describes a paradoxical affective state blending amazement and boredom, excitement, and cognitive suspension. The article argues that digital immersive art has an affective nature, serving as a somatic way of experiencing visual impressions. This experience activates often unconscious psychoemotional triggers embedded within the image itself.

Artificial Intelligence in Video Games: State of the Art and Future Potential

Nikita O. Shesterin — 2025-12-31

Since the beginnings of video games as a creative medium over seven decades ago, artificial intelligence (AI) has played an integral role. However, this form of AI differs significantly from what the general public perceives it to be, as well as from standard definitions found in relevant academic disciplines like data science and machine learning. Recent advancements in these areas—such as the rise of large-scale language models and generative algorithms—have led to convergence between these distinct understandings. As a result, novel possibilities for innovation and creativity emerge in the realm of interactive media. The present article explores the current state-of-the-art and near-future developments in AI-driven gaming technologies. It also addresses key questions: How did video game AI evolve prior to the advent of machine learning? Can newer forms of AI, including machine learning and generative systems, supplant traditional approaches, or will they complement them instead? Do each type have specific uses that set them apart? Finally, what broader implications do these evolving methodologies hold for interactive entertainment moving forward?

Role of Non-Verbal Communication in Inclusive Workplaces: A Study on Mute and Speech-Impaired Employees in Bangladesh

Salma Ahmed — 2025-12-31

Inclusive workplaces require an essential base of communication systems which acknowledge, represent as well as react to the needs of each working person that are different. In the case of mute and speech-impaired employees, communication is mainly done in non-verbal means: sign languages, gestures, facial expressions, use of written tools, body motions, visual signals and by assistive technological equipment. Although Bangladesh has witnessed growing policy focus on inclusion of the disabled community, work practices in the country have met expectations that are miles below the mark of enabling significant work conditions to be provided to the speech impaired. This paper investigates the roles, limitations, and ability of non-verbal communication to facilitate inclusion of mute and speech-impaired individuals in the workplace in Bangladesh. A qualitative descriptive research approach to finding the answers, and thematic analysis of secondary sources, such as scholarly articles, government policies, NGO reports, and case study of organizations, the paper discovers that non-verbal communication is a key mechanism that mediates collaboration, autonomy, functional performance, emotional security, and integration with other team members. Its success is, though, limited by infrequent sign language literacy among the hearing employees, the lack of technological infrastructure, ineffective implementation of disability laws, stigma, and organizational readiness. The results support the need for systematic communicational patterns that include BdSL training and advocating the visual system at the workplace, inclusive HR strategies, technological services and joint awareness campaigns. The paper conclusively finds out that reinforcement of the frameworks of non-verbal communication, as well as compliance with the frameworks of disability rights, is not only essential; however, but it is also essential in terms of equal labor-market participation and organization productivity in Bangladesh.