Sociology of communication processes in current scenarios and the “manipulation of news”

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.58179/SSWR9203

Keywords:

social influences, sociology of communication, manipulation news, military psychological operations (PSYOP), crowd psychology, human behavior

Abstract

This study examines the sociological processes underlying social influence, beginning with early military psychological operations (PSYOP) involving news manipulation and tracing their development toward contemporary techniques of persuasion. It focuses on the mechanisms through which influence is exerted and on the core principles involved in directing human behavior. The analysis also addresses mass suggestion, crowd psychology, and the erosion of individual identity, drawing on the foundational contributions of Gustav Le Bon and Sigmund Freud. These perspectives provide a framework for introducing eight typologies of the “change process” and for analyzing the corresponding reduction of individual volitional capacity.

Author Biographies

  • Monica Calderaro, University of International  Studies, Rome, Italy

    Monica Calderaro is Criminologist, forensic graphologist, professor, PhD of Psychology of Crime at the Department of International Humanities and Social Sciences, University of International  Studies in Rome (Unint), Italy.

  • Vincenzo Mastronardi, University of International Studies, Rome, Italy

    Vincenzo Mastronardi is Psychiatrist, psychotherapist, clinical criminologist, expert graphologist, professor, PhD, at the Department of Political Sciences and Psycho-social Dynamics, University of International Studies in Rome, Italy, Former Director of the Chair of Forensic Psychopathology - Faculty of Medicine "Sapienza" University of Rome, Italy. 

  • Ionut Virgil Serban, University of Craiova, Romania

    Ionut Virgil Serban is professor at the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Craiova, Romania.

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Published

2025-12-30

Issue

Vol. 9 No. 2 (2025): December Issue

Section

Articles

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Copyright (c) 2025 Sociology and Social Work Review

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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How to Cite

Calderaro, M., Mastronardi, V., & Serban, I. V. (2025). Sociology of communication processes in current scenarios and the “manipulation of news”. Sociology and Social Work Review, 9(2), 49-61. https://doi.org/10.58179/SSWR9203