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Social Media, the star reporter of the Ukraine-Russia War

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Amrutha Pagad
Amrutha PagadMar 03, 2022 | 18:05

Social Media, the star reporter of the Ukraine-Russia War

We use social media platforms to capture every waking moment of our life and share it with others. Now, social media is also playing an important role in a war. The Ukraine-Russia war stories are largely being reported on social media platforms.

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A Ukrainian soldier patrols the street. Photo: Getty Images

The volume of visual elements we are seeing from inside the war and even before the war began; the build-up was never seen in conventional wars earlier. Social media has enabled these things to be reported:

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  • Real-time events
  • First-hand witness accounts
  • Access to hard to reach destinations inside a war zone
  • Ensuring that the first casualty of the war is not the truth 

Reporting on wars has never been an easy task.

As Russian forces in Ukraine continue shelling cities indiscriminately, it has become a dangerous job for journalists reporting for mainstream media outlets. This CNN journalist and his team had to put on their safety gear in the middle of reporting as they heard fighter jets passing by.

Very few journalists remain in the warzone now; many choosing to leave as the situation deteriorates. It also needs to be noted that several of the places in Ukraine may not be accessible, due to military build-up, blowing up of roads and signs. So, most journalists have been limited to reporting in and near the capital region of Kyiv and other big cities like Kharkiv.

But nonetheless, it has been the citizens who have been documenting what is happening in their villages, towns, and cities by large.

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Local news outlets and journalists had been contributing massively; however, even that has now been partially brought to a halt as a Russian missile hit and destroyed the Kyiv TV tower. The TV tower strike was also captured from an unknown entity on social media.

Rajesh Pawar and Ukrainian journalist Maria Pysarenko are both using social media platforms such as Twitter and YouTube to share the reality of war with the world. They are also reporting from the warzone, earphones in and a phone screen in hand; for India Today TV.

Others are sending SOS messages on social media for help.

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IS THIS THE FIRST SOCIAL MEDIA WAR REPORTING THEN?

In a way, it can be said that the Ukraine-Russia War is the first time that a major war is being reported on social media. However, the groundwork for social media use during conflicts was laid during the Arab Spring in 2010. Social media made the Arab Spring into a revolution to behold while the governments tried to clamp down on it.

In Ukraine's case, the government is not clamping down on social media access and use but instead, doing everything to keep it running. 

Before social media, there were others. Like the Vietnam War was largely referred to as the 'first television war', while the American-Spanish war of the 1800s was known as perhaps the first media war, where media was used as a weapon. Then came the Cuban-American conflict that saw sensationalised reporting from war zones.      

HOW DO YOU KNOW IF SOCIAL MEDIA VIDEOS AND IMAGES ARE REAL?

It’s not just social media reporting that’s taking place amid the Ukraine-Russia War, but also a separate battle on social media itself is taking place. Russia has been accused of spreading misinformation and propaganda to further destabilise the situation and run a false picture of the reality.

However, official Ukraine government accounts and even platforms themselves have taken it upon themselves to defeat Russia in the social media battle, and Moscow is losing the information war as of now.

Twitter has started showing warning messages when sharing links associated to Russian state media, while YouTube has suspended Russian channels such as RT News and Sputnik entirely for Europe.

On the other hand, the official Ukrainian government handles have been giving out timely updates on the situation and keeping the morale of the people and the forces high. They have also been warning citizens of possible fake news being shared by Russian state actors in the face of the situation.

But how do you differentiate between a fake and a real video or image?

Of course, one of the things that people can do is consume their information from trusted sources.

The other method to verify a video or a photo is by:

1. Using reverse image search

2. Geolocating the footage or the image

Social media has been used across the world to show the truth in the face of a propaganda machine trying to hide the grim reality. For example, in India itself, during the deadly second wave of Covid-19, it was the SOS messages on social media crying for oxygen that became the defining moment of the situation. The tragic stories about the lack of medical access were another aspect.

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin may try to change the narrative of what’s happening in Ukraine, but in the age of social media combined with high resolution camera phones, it is hard to keep denying the reality. In such cases, there is no scope for turning lies into the truth.

Last updated: March 03, 2022 | 18:05
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