As tensions between Russia and Ukraine are on the rise, propaganda and the visuals of war have never been easier to access. With social media now being the new frontier for things like propaganda and much more to spread.
This new way of accessibility does a great job of exposing the world’s most recent generation to how war and fighting works and affects the whole world. In one of the most accurate ways possible, a video taken and uploaded by a person experiencing this problem first hand. This way to spread information also helps both sides of the conflict to gain support and bring awareness to things that could be done if the right people see this content uploaded.
Take for example, the Vice President of Ukraine Mykhailo Fedorov who caught Elon Musk’s attention when he tweeted saying “While you try to colonize Mars — Russia try to occupy Ukraine! While your rockets successfully land from space — Russian rockets attack Ukrainian civil people! We ask you to provide Ukraine with Starlink stations and to address sane Russians to stand.” The same day Elon Musk responded with “Starlink service is now active in Ukraine. More terminals en route.” To just grasp the large impact of this example. The Vice President of Ukraine and one of the richest men in the world in the span of 2 messages and one day gave internet access to almost all of Ukraine. That is only the beginning.
Many people struggling with this conflict first hand have turned to TikTok to share their experiences and give people not involved in this issue some perspective. Videos of Ukraine civilians fighting against Russian soldiers. Tanks being blown up by RPG’s, planes being shot out of the air, and videos of blown up civilian buildings is just the tip of the iceberg. TikTok is also being used as a tool to tell the news of what is happening in the conflict and peoples opinion on the situation. One of the creators I have been following for the past couple weeks is @philipdefranco. Who posts once or even twice a day fast paced, fact checked, reliable news on this problem. Using terms that can easily be digested by a younger audience and answering every popular question in the comment section of his videos, he doesn’t only explain what is happening, but what it means and how it affects something. Helping his viewers understand and comprehend the impact some of these decisions have on the entire situation.
However, all this media coverage is not all good. In many instances footage from past wars and conflicts are being posted and easily mistaken for current footage in Ukraine. Along with people being misinformed and sharing claims that aren’t backed up with any evidence. It can be very easy to get confused or misinformed on the topic. Especially with how the built in algorithm to these social media platforms push whatever videos the users watch the most can make it easy to reinforce beliefs and ideas that were never true to begin with.
After all of these things are put into consideration. Even though social media can positively influence and put into perspective real conflicts happening in the world. Not everything you find on the internet is accurate. So make sure you are fact checking your sources and trying to find evidence to back up claims.