It is the first war with witnesses empowered with mobile phones and devices, massive access to networks and connectivity. Activism has taken over the internet in many different ways
The multiplication of daily publications on the Russian war makes it difficult to follow news and information. Many users of social networks have wanted to express their position in correspondence, either accompanying their «@» or nickname with a Ukrainian or Russian flag, or with hashtags or other messages. In the Western world, support for the Ukrainian people and the pointing out of Putin prevail.
The digital field is very broad and this is evident through the Google Reviews rating system. Following a campaign launched by the Anonymous collective in response to a request from the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense on Twitter, a significant number of users rated various restaurants in Russia with 5 stars. And they placed in the comments messages of support for Ukraine and stories about what has been happening in various attacked cities in order to circumvent the censorship imposed in that country, as well as misinformation.
Through this mechanism, the algorithm is forced to show the best reviews first, without intervening in their content.
Many social network users were enthusiastic about being able to act against what they have considered an injustice, even if it was from a distance and only on the digital plane. Even the discussion about concrete actions spilled over into a lengthy thread on Reddit.
These actions also included images showing the Russian army and its armored vehicles breaking into various cities of the invaded country.
Part of the messages that could be read between the last days of February and the beginning of March 2022, according to Mashable, were:
The meal was excellent! Unfortunately, Putin spoiled our appetite by invading Ukraine. Stand up to his dictator, stop killing innocent people! His government is lying to them. Get up! Google “kyiv” and putler [sic] and share it with all the people in Russia.
The food is great, but your leader is killing innocent people in the Ukraine! Stop this war.
Such was the response from Internet users that the Grand Café Shivag in Moscow had to ban reviews through Tripadvisor until further notice.
These messages have already disappeared, although they have been immortalized on various websites and social network posts, and in various media that have been echoed. Likewise, they set an important precedent for the civic and asymmetric struggle that Internet users can exercise through various digital channels.
Twitter, weapon of defense and diplomacy
A tweet from the Ukrainian minister of digital transformation was enough for the Starlink satellite internet service to be deployed over Ukraine freely and free of charge, almost immediately after the request. Something that has also positioned Elon Musk with a very specific action.
@elonmusk, 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.
Mykhailo Fedorov (@FedorovMykhailo) February 26, 2022
Minister Mykhailo Fedorov also urged other international companies to help them in defense actions. Many have been thanked for their support with concrete actions.
Although in some cases he has had to insist on the indifference or involuntary omission of those involved.
On the other hand, the official profile @Ukraine has been exploiting the message of mainstream figures in its favor to increase the reach of the message, thus getting important responses and reactions from people. What in communication is called engagement and that drives the algorithms of the platforms to give greater visibility to the contents.
Through this profile, Pepsi was summoned to leave the Russian market while Coca Cola delayed its decision until March 4. Among the messages, someone asked if finally the “war of queues would have a definitive winner.” Image or reputation crisis in sight? Until the second week of March, the tweet accumulated more than 65,000 “likes” and almost 10,000 retweets while both companies have temporarily ceased their functions in that country.
Other digital actions of the internet community
The cyber activist group Anonymous has also claimed responsibility for changing the identification of Putin’s luxury yacht in global navigation systems. Bloomberg journalist Ryan Gallagher echoed this news and reviewed it through his Twitter account.
One of the altered data indicated that the boat had crashed on the Ukrainian Snake Island. Also, in the itinerary they changed the destination to “hell” and the yacht identification, from Graceful to “FCKPTN”.
The hackers — who are affiliated with an Anonymous offshoot called @theanonleaks — told me they did it by manipulating the maritime “Automatic Identification System,” which is used to track ship locations.
Ryan Gallagher (@rj_gallagher) February 27, 2022
TikTok flavored war performance
It is the first war with witnesses empowered with mobile phones and devices, massive access to networks and connectivity. The disaster is documented at every moment and a kind of performance of the conflict is acted out through TikTok.
The projection of digital voices in Putin’s Russia must be uncomfortable. His government promotes a legal regime that persecutes digital dissidence. For this reason, TikTok has declared the temporary cessation of its social video service in this country, leaving only the internal messaging service enabled in the mobile app.
People seek to express themselves through disruptive channels and, of course, memes cannot go under the table. Right now they are a valuable resource to express fear, frustration or even pain through satire.
Although propaganda also makes use of this narrative.
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