The internet has become a battleground, writes the author of a new article in the Journal of Anthropological Research, and particularly so in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, which has been called the first "TikTok war." In " Social Media Warfare: Monetization and Materiality in the Ukrainian Armed Forces Since February 24, 2022 ," Marcello Fantoni uses ethnographic interviews with former and current members of the Ukrainian military to analyze the role of social media in the conflict, and how social media helps create a "feedback loop" in which combat operations funded by donations incur the need for even more financial support.
There are several reasons, Fantoni writes, for the proliferation of social media content from the war's front lines. One is the widespread access in Ukraine to video-capturing devices like drones and smartphones; another is the knowledge that social media content helps drive global sympathy. "Militarily speaking," Fantoni writes, "not producing content grants the enemy an uncontested global battlefield with unhindered mobility to exploit, allowing them to outflank you informationally and culturally." But the primary motivation for content production is to raise funds.
With resources stretched after over three years of fighting, Ukrainian army social media content solicits donations to pay for things like new vehicles, fuel, and spare parts. Many of those donations come from civilians, says one source interviewed for the article, but a great number come from other soldiers. Combat footage is the type of content most likely to garner donations.
Social media is also used to encourage army enlistment, with units presenting themselves online as more successful attracting the most recruits. This, too, can lead to a feedback loop, Fantoni writes, as "conducting such operations obviously creates killed and wounded, who must be replaced to maintain the same operational readiness, and thus the cycle starts again.
Ultimately, Fantoni writes, the social media campaigns waged by Ukrainian military forces represent a desperate and creative use of the few tools they have available in a situation of great scarcity. "The front is never satiated in either bodies or machines," Fantoni concludes; "rather, the toll of war grinds on and deeper than ever before, as those who do remain face an ever-present fight for survival with ever-diminishing resources."
