Dear readers!

An important place in the conversation about values is occupied by the analysis of the social contexts in which these values are disseminated. This also applies to traditional values. We believe that from previous issues, the reader has come to understand that when discussing traditional values, we do not mean something archaic and museum-like, but rather the role of these values in modernity. To analyze this role, it is extremely important to turn to the most advanced areas of the humanities, as well as to pay attention to the latest changes in societal life. In this regard, we have decided to dedicate the third issue of the second volume of the journal Patria, which we are pleased to present today, to the role of media in the dissemination of values and the transmission of traditions. Media studies, in our opinion, represent an extremely productive field for examining the place of traditional values in the modern world, as well as for critically analyzing the trends that may threaten the preservation of traditional values. In line with the issue’s special focus on modernity, it also includes articles on the tension between traditional values and contemporary bioethics.

The main section on media studies in the context of traditional values opens with the article by Denis Artamonov and Sofya Tikhonova (Saratov National Research State University named after N.G. Chernyshevsky) titled Emotional Axiology: How Post-Truth Changes Value Hierarchies. The authors examine the transformation of social values under the influence of digital capitalism, post-truth, and algorithmic manipulation, as well as analyze how emotions become a key resource in shaping hierarchies of significance, displacing rationality and objective truth. The main focus is on the relationship between emotions and values in the context of societal virtualization, the experience economy, and the crisis of traditional knowledge institutions. Social media algorithms, generative neural networks, video games, and echo chambers monetize attention through emotional triggers, forming information bubbles; within them, "alternative facts" and group narratives replace objective reality, deepening polarization. Based on a socio-philosophical approach, the authors analyze the mechanisms through which post-truth and algorithmic digital platforms reconfigure traditional value hierarchies.

The coverage of this issue is continued by Vera Potapova (University of Amsterdam, Netherlands) in the article Digital Autonomy: Who Defines Values in the Platform Society?, which analyzes the influence of the digital environment, particularly platforms, on the formation of public values. Drawing on key works in platform studies, the author interprets platforms not as neutral technological intermediaries but as active participants in social processes that set values and have the potential to influence the common good. The main focus is on defining platforms and the key consequences of platformization: datafication, commodification, and selection. The mechanisms by which power is concentrated and disseminated by large tech corporations such as Google, Microsoft, and others are examined. Special emphasis is placed on the discussion of digital sovereignty and the need for state regulation. The author concludes that to create a digital environment based on the values of transparency and accountability, it is necessary to establish dialogue between civil society, the technology industry, independent experts, and state institutions.

The next two works are devoted to studies of right-wing media. Dmitry Moiseev (National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow) in the article New Media of the "New Right": Contemporary Cases for Promoting Traditional Values argues that the ideas formulated by representatives of the intellectual "New Right" movement that emerged in France in 1968 have gained particular relevance in the context of the "new right turn" in recent years. One of the tools for increasing interest in the "New Right" discourse has been contemporary media and systematic work in the information field to promote the main ideas of the "New Right." The author examines both the general trend of popularizing the ideas of the "New Right" and specific examples of successful contemporary right-wing media—the British publishing house Arktos and the French think tank Strategika.

Kirill Stukanov (Lund University, Sweden) in the article The Role of Right-Wing Alternative Media in the Nordic Media Systems notes that the growing popularity of right-wing political forces in recent years has been accompanied by increased public interest in alt-right media. Given that alternative media have historically been studied by scholars through left-wing theories, the alt-right has been classified as deviant and marginal communities. Using methods of critical discourse analysis, the article examines the self-presentation of alt-right media in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark, and then compares these projects with mainstream media using a political economy approach. The results show that the alt-right group is diverse, while contemporary Scandinavian media systems increasingly consist of polarized and radicalized media.

The media studies section concludes with an article by Natalia Sineokaya (University of Vienna, Austria) titled Accessibility, Transparency, Inclusivity? The Values of Open Science and the Paradox of Democratization. Scientific journals and information distribution platforms can be considered as media (it is enough to recall the Russian practice, according to which a scientific journal must be registered as a mass media outlet). The article analyzes the paradox of the democratization of Open Science: on the one hand, open science promotes accessibility and transparency of the scientific process, but on the other hand, it exacerbates existing academic inequalities. The author examines the main challenges of Open Science, including financial barriers for researchers from the Global South, the dominance of quantitative methods over qualitative ones, language and digital barriers, as well as threats related to open data and peer review. Special attention is paid to the problem of the gamification of the academic environment, as a result of which Open Science becomes a tool not of democratization but of the capitalization of science.

Two more studies are combined in the section Bioethics and Traditional Values. Valentina Rednikina (Samara University) in the article From Natural to Artificial Design of Living Systems emphasizes: the question of constructing living things leads to a transformation of ontology arising from the deep penetration of technologies into living systems. Breakthroughs in experimental methods, especially in molecular biology and genomics, have positioned the biosciences at the forefront: we can "read" and "write" genomes, model life at different levels, and the boundary between organic and inorganic is blurring. This gives rise to a new ontology, where molecules are seen not only as the building blocks of life but also as carriers of information, elements of complex information systems. Living organisms appear as complex self-regulating machines amenable to engineering intervention. The classical division into subject and object is blurred. Biological research is increasingly integrated with digital technologies, creating complex computer models of living systems.

The article by Regina Penner (South Ural State University (National Research University), Chelyabinsk; Yaroslav the Wise Novgorod State University, Veliky Novgorod) The Question of Morality: Understanding Traditional Values in Medical Practices is devoted to analyzing the transformation of traditional values in the context of contemporary medical practices. The basis for the study is a non-conventional concept of values, where values are seen as transcendental guidelines existing outside the framework of social agreements. The article clarifies that these guidelines are subject to constant revision under the influence of technological and social changes. Key medical cases are examined in detail, such as genome editing using CRISPR, pharmaceutical experiments, and the introduction of artificial intelligence in medicine. Special attention is paid to the biopolitical context of vaccination, where medical practice becomes a symbol of solidarity and control. The role of pharmaceutical companies in shaping value discourses through the lens of market logic and social justice is analyzed. The author shows that traditional values such as freedom, mercy, and responsibility remain significant, but their interpretation changes depending on the context. The article highlights the need for philosophical reflection to comprehend values in new technological realities and proposes an integrative approach that takes into account both the universal and local nature of value orientations.

The criticism and reviews section features a response by Sultanbek Andiev (National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow) to the book Culture and the Death of God by one of the most influential Marxist theorists of culture, Terry Eagleton. The reviewer introduces the journal’s readers to the structure and main ideas of the book, as well as considers it in the broader context of Eagleton’s work and contemporary post-secular philosophy, noting that contemporary Marxism is not so alien to traditional values. Anna Hristyuk (National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow) briefly summarizes the main content of the collection of articles Catholic Horror on Television: Haunting Faith. Importantly, all four authors of the book are connected to the Church, making their views on the representation of Catholic faith in horror series all the more interesting. Particularly noteworthy is the book’s main conclusion: horror series featuring Catholicism do not moralize but encourage a rethinking of faith as a personal and social experience.

We hope that the materials in this issue, as always, will be of interest to readers and will demonstrate the promise of engaging with the field of media studies (as well as contemporary social theory and cultural studies in general) for reflecting on traditional values and their place in the key processes of modernity.

Alexander Pavlov