The power of social media and the internet to influence national events and even bring about regime change has steadily increased over the past decade. The revolutionary changes of the Arab Spring were fueled by social media, which proved to be not only a means of communication but also a fighting force for anti-government protesters. However, Russia’s ongoing war on Ukraine is the first time a conflict has not only featured so prominently on social media, but the first time the medium has been used as a weapon on such a scale. And at this stage…
The power of social media and the internet to influence national events and even bring about regime change has steadily increased over the past decade.
The revolutionary changes of the Arab Spring were fueled by social media, which proved to be not only a means of communication but also a fighting force for anti-government protesters.
However, Russia’s ongoing war on Ukraine is the first time a conflict has not only featured so prominently on social media, but the first time the medium has been used as a weapon on such a scale.
And at this stage of the conflict, the Ukrainians are way ahead of the Russians on this particular cyber battlefield. Backed by Ukrainian tech businessmen and led by savvy communicators and marketers, Ukraine’s information offensive on the internet is something never seen before.
The problem with many of the social media posts by a large number of official and unofficial Ukrainian accounts is that they turn out to be fake news or misleading.
Some examples are the alleged massacre of the 13 Ukrainian troops on Snake Island by the Russians. When the Russians called for the Russians to surrender, the men are said to have told the warship: “Go on… yourself”. However, it appears that the men were captured.
Then there was the false story about the “Ghost of Kiev” – supposedly a Ukrainian fighter who shot down six Russian planes in his MiG-29 fighter on the first day of battle.
That has since been debunked. There was also drone footage that claimed to show a Russian armored vehicle being destroyed. Problem: This was from the conflict in Syria.
Some so-called video evidence, fled by Western media, absurdly turned out to be from a video war game. But elsewhere the Ukrainians carried out brilliant propaganda. That word has a dirty tone, but in fact it is just another form of advertising or marketing.
You sell patriotism, to rally your people, or emotion to confuse your enemies and win your support from elsewhere, both morally and physically.
At the head of this offensive was the country’s president, former comedian Volodymyr Zelensky, who stands in front of the camera and is either brilliant with words or has very talented speechwriters.
The Ukrainian military has so far used guerrilla tactics. It makes extensive use of advanced NLAW missiles in urban neighborhoods. It also uses the heavier US Javeline missiles in ambushes against advanced convoys outside cities, #UkraineRussianWar #Ukraine pic.twitter.com/SzGusQ3GOG— towfeeg (@towfeeg1800) March 4, 2022
Images have been sent around the world of him, wearing a bulletproof vest, on the road with his troops… and few seem to be concerned that these were taken more than a year ago. However, he has seemingly kept his post and his briefings to journalists, in army green T-shirts in a building protected by sandbags, were compelling.
This is reality TV in the very real sense. People are dying despite fake bits and pieces – and Kiev has not only taken the moral high position from the start, but has also used it to stunning effect. Some of the things the Ukrainians have done touched them directly… like when they offered to allow Russian mothers to pick up their imprisoned sons.
In another video, a young imprisoned Russian conscript burst into tears as he spoke to his mother, in a link facilitated by his captors. A Ukrainian woman puts her arm around him to comfort him and assure his mother that he will get home safely.
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It’s a stunning way to emphasize the humanity of a people – would you comfort a soldier who had tried to kill you and take over your country? – and plant the seeds of anger among ordinary Russians. A patriotic rally film also shows Ukrainian marketing at its most effective.
It may be cheesy, but if you look at it, you know that real people – soldiers and civilians – are dying because of the Russian invasion… so it hits home even if you’re thousands of miles away. It is through the thoughts and words of a soldier that the subtle ‘fight them in the fields’ type Churchillian message is conveyed.
Do not be afraid. Pat my dog for me. How is the child? Tell daddy to take care of him and mommy. Then the soldier tells the various people of Ukraine that they… [the troops] know that the rest of the country is behind them.
It ends with a group of strong, determined soldiers looking into the camera above the line: Come back alive. It is the best form of propaganda because it plays on the emotions. Propaganda is marketing and this is good marketing. But I won’t give it Orchid for two reasons.
First – there is a lot of fake news – on both sides. Second – real people really do die and that doesn’t deserve a price.