Appealing to compassion as an element of Russia’s hybrid warfare against the West

The advancement of information technology makes societies increasingly vulnerable to disinformation and manipulation. A skillfully conducted disinformation campaign may weaken the state’s potential and make it vulnerable to external influences. The article presents an outline of the possibilities of influencing mass behavior. An attempt will also be made to answer the question of whether the combination of knowledge in the field of neurobiology, mathematics, sociology, and other sciences combined with the use of artificial intelligence and big data allows for the development of a new type of cybernetic weapons influencing the subconscious.