The war on the network: – Ukrainians have an advantage – VG

The Ukrainians have a clear advantage in the battle over narrative, says a cybersecurity researcher.

When the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine was thanking Great Britain for the military assistance they provided, it happened through a Twitter video Where Shakespeare, David Bowie and Lewis Hamilton are cut with British tanks used on the battlefield, accompanied by music from Clash and Gustav Holst.

Similarly, the decision of French President Macron to send weapons to Ukraine was met with one video which stated that “romantic gestures can be too many,” as roses, chocolates, and a hot French song were placed alongside passages of French weapons used. The video has been discussed before, among others BBC.

Although the war on the ground has been heavy and demanding for Ukraine, there is one arena in which Ukrainians have emerged completely superior since the start of the war eight months ago: social media.

Ukrainians know what they’re doing, and they’re very smart, says senior researcher Nils Nagelhos Chia, who heads the NUPI research group on security and defense.

Ukraine, through its communication on social platforms, has succeeded in portraying itself as a modern and Western country, while Russia appears to be the opposite: while Zelensky sends a live video of himself on the battlefield, Russia blocks social media and Putin sits far from the people behind them. big table. Researcher Shea tells VG that it helps garner support for Ukraine internally, but also globally.

Million deals on Twitter

Shea thinks the big picture is that Big Tech picked a side early on.

The 31-year-old Ukrainian Minister of Digitization Mikhailo Fedorov never knew a world without the internet. The young minister is a pivotal part in the country’s reputation work, says researcher Nils Nagelhaus Shea.

When he wanted to ensure the country was more robust against attacks, he simply called Elon Musk with a Twitter message and asked for Starlink satellites, Shea explains.

Thus, an agreement was concluded, which Musk estimated to be worth 400 million dollars over the next year, in a few days, before the eyes of the whole world.

– Ukraine was good at getting big tech on board, and big tech and Ukraine were mutually beneficial from each other, Shea says.

Musk splits

The researcher describes that social media suffered from its reputation after the Arab Spring, when it disappointed many and became a tool of authoritarian regimes. Subsequently, neither Brexit nor elections in the United States helped correct this impression.

– But during the war in Ukraine, we saw that the Ukrainians used it to bring people together. The Nupi researcher explains to VG that the timing was good for the big tech intervention.

He still believes Musk’s recent acquisition of Twitter is not good news.

– Appears rushing at the same time as him get involved in warand now dominates Twitter. The researcher tells VG that this fulfills the debate about large technology and technical capabilities.

The story is streamed live

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is an important part of Ukraine’s struggle to gain world attention. The President, who has a background as an actor and comedian, is known as a strong communicator as always adapt their speeches to the relevant audience.

Then Zelensky Talk to the Norwegian Parliament He drew parallels between Ukrainian and Norwegian history, and mentioned the liberation of the occupied countries and the May 17 train in his speech.

“He hits us in the heart”VG wrote in the lead.

Zelensky is a man who has undoubtedly mastered modern forms of communication, says Nils Nagelhaus Shea, senior researcher in the field of digitalization and cybersecurity.

He says social media has never played such a big role in a war before, like this one.

– It used to be said that “history is written by the victors”, but the reality in 2022 is that history is broadcast live. It’s happening now – on the go, with videos taken from the front and the president addressing residents. Then he plays a huge role in mastering the art of meeting people.