COGNITIVE-LINGUISTIC MECHANISMS OF MEANING CONSTRUCTION IN MANIPULATIVE MEDIA DISCOURSE

Abstract

The article aims to describe the cognitive and linguistic mechanisms of meaning construction that underlie manipulative impact in media discourse and to demonstrate how cross-domain conceptual projections between TRUTH and LIE conceptual domains generate blend zones that enable covert influence on the addressee. The study draws on mental space and conceptual blending theory, frame and schema theory, and qualitative analysis of English-language media discourse focusing on emotionally loaded lexical and phraseological resources. The authors show that the emergence of a “grey zone” within the TRUTH – LIE continuum (alternative truth, post-truth, counter-truth, counter-knowledge, etc.) results in systematic deviations in cross-domain mappings that leads to cognitive distortions (confirmation bias, availability heuristic, illusory truth effect, attribution errors) and addressee’s conceptual disorientation. It is argued that emotionalization through fear- and threat-oriented frames and culturally entrenched schemata of a contemporary “culture of fear” significantly enhances the manipulative potential of media narratives. The novelty of the study lies in the account of the polydomain nature of conceptual projection in the mental space of manipulation, in identifying blend zones as structural hubs of manipulative influence, and in linking specific types of cognitive distortions to parameters of emotionalized media discourse. Epistemic vigilance is conceptualized as a key cognitive mechanism that enables resistance to manipulation and more adequate interpretation of media messages.