Why Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine Gained the Nickname of the “TikTok War”

Ukrainian Instagram influencers are now witnesses of the war zone. At the same time, urban warfare experts are tweeting about Ukrainian fighters, according to the chief media correspondent of the CNNBrian Stelter, on the program “Reliable Sources”, from CNN American. But the onslaught of words and images is fueling a mixed media environment, with a lot of misinformation circulating.

Many are calling Russia’s invasion of Ukraine the “TikTok war” as users of the short video platform fiercely posted about the military escalation on the eve of the invasion, when it was still denied by the Russians. Many are also using social media to become “anti-war activists,” Stelter said. Follow the special coverage of CNN about the war in Ukraine.

The news ecosystem is becoming increasingly complex, especially when considering Russia’s state-owned media.

David French, senior editor of the online magazine The Dispatch, said social media is showing Americans just how “incredibly brutal” this war is. At the same time, the platforms do not offer an overall strategic view, such as the positions of Russian forces or the actual number of casualties.

“Each video on TikTok is a small snapshot of a short moment in the timeline, often without any other context,” said French. “It would take a long time with real knowledge to start putting together the TikTok puzzle.”

French added that the immediacy of social media feeds may have led Western nations to “quickly fall” into stricter sanctions.

“The inspiring nature of the Ukrainian resistance is causing many western governments to be ashamed and take action,” opined the editor.

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Stelter, from CNNcited an excellent example of misinformation being spread on social media: a video of Russian paratroopers shared on TikTok and Twitter that was actually filmed in 2015.

Jane Lytvynenko, an investigative reporter and researcher specializing in disinformation, said that few people understand information warfare as well as most Ukrainians.

“Political propaganda is part of every war,” he said. “And the purpose of the propaganda coming from Russia now is to undermine Ukrainian narratives and scare the Ukrainian people,” he continued.

Lytvynenko warned of reports of “Russian forces, Russian force movements and disinformation” on social media, which Ukrainian news agencies are debunking in real time.

The “mist of war” has settled in Ukraine, Stelter said, making it more difficult to know what is happening in communities even within 40 kilometers of Kiev. French said we cannot know for days or weeks the actual course of the battle.

“There’s a general rule of thumb: the more specific and dramatic the information, the more suspicious you should be,” said French, who is a veteran of the Iraq War. “Right now, the most credible reports will be those from high-level sources and the vaguest.”