Social Media’s Impact On The War In Ukraine

Uploaded on 2023-04-17 in TECHNOLOGY-Key Areas-Social Media, INTELLIGENCE-Hot Spots-Russia, FREE TO VIEW

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine had shocked the world, and this war often has the headlines in print and broadcast media and it has flooded social media platforms. When Russia initiated its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a second, less visible battle in cyberspace got under way.

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, companies providing social media and messaging services have often taken steps to counter harmful disinformation and they have frequently blocked state-sponsored or state-affiliated media, and to introduce extra safety measures.

Yet social media has generated a wealth of propaganda and disinformation surrounding the Russia-Ukraine War and has become a veritable information battleground as both countries use social media to discredit each other and influence global opinion.

The big tech companies have become increasingly involved in the Ukraine-Russia conflict, both as tools of propaganda and as facilitators of communication and collaboration.

With millions of people in Ukraine and Russia, as well as around the world, using social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, the conflict has been documented and analysed in real-time, with both sides using social media to push their agendas and influence public opinion.

Along with physical violence, the war is also being fought on an ideological front. Both Russia and Ukraine have been using social media platforms to spread false information, influence public opinion and policymakers, and even impacting military operations themselves. The Russian propaganda machine supplies a constant barrage of fake news stories and accounts, conspiracy theories, doctored images, and manipulated videos that have become more effective through social media.

For example, in 2014, Russian state media used social media platforms to push the false narrative that the Ukrainian military was responsible for downing Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17.

Furthermore, in preparation for the 2022 invasion, Russian state media started pushing the false theory that the US had a secret bioweapons lab located in Ukraine responsible for harboring the COVID-19 virus. Even before Russia’s occupation of Crimea and its support for the conflict in eastern Ukraine, the authorities have deployed elaborate, state-driven propaganda through which they have disseminated malicious disinformation, invented “facts” and lies, and wild exaggerations. These include baseless claims about Kyiv being overrun by “Nazis,” and existential threats to ethnic Russians. This has played a crucial role in escalating tensions in Ukraine and fanning the flames of the conflict since it started in 2014.

Social media has generated a wealth of propaganda and disinformation surrounding the Russia-Ukraine War and has become an information battleground as both countries use social media to discredit each other and influence global opinion.

Many young people across the western world use social media to access what they beleive to be trustworthy aned reliable news. Social media is easier and faster to access than many conventional new sources like print, radio and TV news and users place a high value on its interactivity.

In the digital age, most audiences and social media users are not passive consumers of media but are proactively seeking out media that meets their political views and beliefs. There is no substitute for robust journalism that is accurate, fair, objective, and keeps bias and propaganda out of reporting. If these principles are violated, people will continue to migrate to social media, where they find more independence and perceived objectivity.

This only further complicates matters, specifically during times of war, as social media is again and again shown to be an effective vehicle for spreading misinformation. The amplified usage of propaganda deepens public distrust of the media, especially among engaged audiences, and will not produce solutions to foreign policy problems or lead to lasting solutions to the conflict in Ukraine.

CIGI: BBC: BBC: Human Right Watch: I-HLS; Cairo Review: Cybernews:

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