Ukraine and the Media: How Social Media Has Changed the Course of History

Graphic by Maggie Sparling

Since Ukraine gained its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia and Ukraine have had an unstable relationship. After the Soviet Union fell and the Russian Federation was established, constant pressure from current president Vladimir Putin has led to increasing tension between the nations since 2014. However, while the pressure had been building for eight years, the world watched in shock and horror as—in a sharp turn of events—Putin mandated a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. As the largest conflict in Europe since 1945, the war in Ukraine has raised an array of questions about our future. While posing questions about our future is expected in such adverse times, our advances in technology and communication have allowed the victims of the war in Ukraine to be able to gain a much larger audience and more support through social media. While Russia has killed thousands, the Ukrainian population has been able to dismantle the “winner gets to write history” narrative that has followed most wars. Thus, while social media has created a lot of societal conflicts, the power it has to drive change and action should not be overlooked.

As the invasion started, so did the rapid growth of social media posts covering the war. Once Russian troops began flooding the streets and explosions began trembling through Ukraine’s cities, Ukrainians began taking over social media platforms to give the world an insight into the terrifying reality that had taken over their lives. Thousands published images on Twitter, and thousands more published Tik Tok videos encapsulating sights of crumbling buildings, crying children, and terrified families roaming the streets in fear of being struck by the next attack. The crude reality displayed for everyone in the world to see pushed many people to quickly take action. Masses of people around the world began raising funds and donations for Ukrainian refugees trying to escape the war. Additionally, protests against the war surged worldwide, urging governments to take action to deter the Russian invasion.

In an interview with Andrii Torchylo, a freshman at Stanford University and a Ukrainian Citizen, Adrii mentioned that “We [Ukrainians] use social media a lot, and for many purposes. Back in Ukraine, my close friends are telling stories about the war and fundraising money. My friend from Kharkiv is fundraising for hemostatic bandages. My friends from Kyiv are fundraising for armor and helmets for their relatives.” Additionally, Andrii mentioned that he has seen an equal desire for action and change within the United States. Across many universities in the United States, Ukrainian students have come together with their American peers to raise funds and bring awareness to the issue: “Only at Stanford alone, [the] group of Ukrainians and volunteers from other countries organized two rallies, a vigil, and a fundraising concert—all of which would be impossible without advertising on social media. Besides, we successfully fundraised 32 tons of medical supplies worth $3.5 million dollars and shipped them to Ukraine, and I think that social media helped us a lot to achieve that milestone.” Clearly, social media is playing a key role in this war. In a world as globalized as today, it is important for us to learn how to use our technological tools in a way that can bring greater good for others. Social media has been one of  the war’s biggest allies, and the world should continue to use it to promote humanitarian aid and well-being. 

While social media has served as a key factor in raising funds for refugees and to spread awareness about the severity of the war, it has also served as a source of moral support for Ukrainian citizens. According to an article published by Drew Harwell and Rachel Lerman, “Ukrainians and their supporters have used social media to bruise, belittle and humiliate the Russians, seeking to boost citizens’ spirits and sap invaders’ morale during the most Internet-accessible war in history.” As the world continues its fight towards democracy in Ukraine, the support that millions around the world have given those currently suffering has given Ukraine the strength to keep fighting, knowing that the world is watching and has their back. In an interview with the Washington Post, Ukrainian artist and anti-war activist Solomiia Shalaiska mentioned that “It’s very important to [strengthen] the national spirit in Ukraine, that’s why people are doing memes and encouraging images.” The Ukrainian Government itself is no stranger to the use of social media as an outlet of moral support and Russian humiliation. Throughout the past two months, the Ukrainian government has posted both memes and encouraging words all over Twitter to keep Ukrainian morale up. The collective effort of both Ukrainians and countries around the world to return democracy to Ukraine is evidence that activism through social media can be extremely beneficial. If our efforts have proven fruitful, the world will continue to stand together in an effort to keep Ukrainian spirits up and stop the Russian invasion. 

Unfortunately, while social media has proven to be helpful, it has also been detrimental to the war in Ukraine. Social media still has its flaws, and we cannot depend on it as a sole source of information and support for the war. In the interview, Andrii emphasized that “what we see on social media is an understatement. I think that we don’t have the information to see all the horrors that are actually happening.” While many of the information we receive is in real time, many of the information from cities taken over by Russia is delayed. Russia’s efforts to ban social media converge on their “special operation,” the official name Russia has given to its full scale invasion of Ukraine. These efforts have made gathering data on true deaths and casualties very hard to obtain, and therefore, it is very important to keep in mind that the horrors we see are only a fragment of reality.

Additionally, misinformation about the war has also caused many problems, and can lead to harmful outputs. Adrii stated that  “in the modern world we don’t have to carefully search for fake news, we can just open Russia Today... Russian state media produced an enormous amount of fake news ranging from false accusations of Ukrainians orchestrating a massacre in Bucha and ending with ‘systematic russophobia in universities around the world.” Additionally, Russia launched a “Russian Lives Matter” campaign in order to undermine Ukrainian efforts on social media. Furthermore, according to an article published by Peter Suciu, “there have been “deepfake” videos of both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin, while countless images and videos have been presented out of context. A single fake post can make us question if we can then believe anything else.” While misinformation and lack of coverage are obvious issues that we should take into account when sharing information about the war online, sharing information about special operations, secret locations, and other sensitive information on social media can lead to civilian casualties and further deaths. Spreading information about the war is essential; however, it is important to be wary of the potential impact and source of the information that we share on social media. 

The war does not seem to be coming to an end. After failing to invade Kyiv, Russia has made their efforts more aggressive and violent. However, Ukrainian morale and spirits remain up, and the country does not plan on giving up any time soon. As the war progresses, it is important to maintain engagement with social media. In regards to performative action, Andrii explained that “the war between Ukraine and Russia is an informational war as well, and social media is one of the most important components of it[...] As long as the war in Ukraine appears in Instagram stories, Twitter posts, and headlines of news articles, we [Ukraine] are winning the informational war. But, as soon as people around the world stop caring about the war, [...] it becomes much more difficult to stop the Russian military machine. So, as long as people post and read about the war, even if it is a performative action, it has a positive contribution to our efforts to win the informational war.” As the war progresses, it is important for everyone around the world to continue to donate, protest, and keep themselves informed to support Ukrainian efforts. Ukraine deserves freedom and the democracy they worked so hard to obtain. It is key for us, as members of the global community, to sustain efforts to give them the political freedom and stability they are tirelessly fighting to obtain. In such a globalized world, together we are stronger, and it is important for us to remain that way.