Control Through Form: A Mechanism of Control That Does Not Prohibit Content

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The article introduces a fifth mechanism of informational control — control through form. The first four mechanisms described in a previous work of the series (propaganda, advertising, algorithms, gaslighting) work with content: what is said, what is offered, what is shown, what is recognized as real. Control through form works with form: content remains formally permitted, but its accessibility and impact are narrowed through structuring the form of the statement. Five levers of form are defined: the level of abstraction, the presence or absence of a subject, the type of modality, temporal and spatial distance, and the number of caveats. The levers work together: with high abstraction, subjectlessness, descriptive modality, temporal distance, and numerous caveats, the message is formally complete, factually empty. Examples from various spheres are analyzed: interaction with AI, news discourse, science, bureaucracy. It is shown that in all cases the structure is the same: formally permitted, factually narrowed. A comparison with the four previous mechanisms is made. The difference is that control through form does not replace content and does not distort it — it narrows the field of possible statement before the content is formulated. This makes it the most hidden of the five mechanisms. A connection with the metrics of the series is established: SQ, HII, IDC, disinformology. It is shown that none of the existing metrics covers control through form. This is a new field for the series. The article does not introduce a new metric — it only designates a gap. The ontological status is discussed: control through form is not a new category but a mode of informational interaction. Ethical and methodological consequences, as well as open questions, are formulated. Version 1.1. License CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.