"We are carrying out comprehensive research aimed at parrying various kinds of threats to information security," Garbuk said. "Specifically, the Foundation is developing technologies…to prevent destructive informational onslaughts – those aimed at destabilizing the situation and leading to the undermining of sovereignty and the violation of states' territorial integrity," he added.
Garbuk clarified that such destructive informational onslaughts include not only foreign propaganda, but also calls to violence of any kind, including efforts to provoke people to inflict self-harm, encourage teens to commit suicide, sectarian behavior or other actions that might cause incontrovertible damage to society and individuals alike. Last year, a social media-based death cult presenting itself as an online 'Blue Whale' game was linked to a string of teen suicides throughout Russia.
"At the same time, it is important to learn to adequately assess the possible damage from these or other forms of informational influence on public consciousness, separating those things which are genuinely dangerous from those that do not pose any significant threat to the individual, to society, or the state," Garbuk concluded.
FARP currently has over fifty projects under its belt. Work on these projects is progressing in over 40 laboratories at Russia's leading universities, research institutions and military enterprises.
