Ukrainian Social Media Campaign: Analysis of its Effects on the U.K.

Ukrainian Social Media Campaign: Analysis of its Effects on the U.K.
Introduction
The term “cyber war” has become an overly used terminology, especially in the wake of the outburst of social media campaigns all over the world. Scholars define this term in various way, for instance, before the advent of social media, cyberwar was defined as a combination of computer-based attacks on enemy’s technical and operational facilities (Robinson 73). Based on this definition, cyberwarfare is a modern war tactic that allows a country to win over its enemies without getting engaged in actual war and spilling blood. Based on this interpretation of cyber war, the Ukrainian and the UK governments’ intense social media campaign against Russian invasion have been the safest approach toward combating Russian ground invasion. Both countries’ official social media accounts, especially Twitter, have been creating countless memes and podcasts to denouncing and malign Russian invasion without actually getting involved in the combat. This trend manifests the fact that the current mode of cyberwar will become a fundamental part of both countries’ waring policy as it is safer and much effective and completely precludes the chances of this war escalating into a global war.
Scholars of international politics are almost unanimous in the opinion that the Russia-Ukraine war of 2022 is the first of its kind manifestation of a full-scale cyber war, involving state-sponsored and non-state-sponsored cyber-attacks from both sides. The most prominent aspect of this cyber war is the extensive use of social media campaigns, especially from Ukraine, even before the actual invasion, to earn sympathy and support from its western allies, especially Britain and America (Ciuriak 2). Critical analysis of this Ukrainian social media campaign against Russia reveals that Twitter and Tiktok have been the two social media platforms that Ukrainian has used extensively to malign Russia and its invasion. One can easily find many memes, graphic images, short video clips of the victims of the war, and other social media posts that stirred up western countries, especially the United Kingdom and America. Consequently, both the British government and the public lent complete moral, financial, and physical support to Ukraine; blue and yellow social media badges and other state-level support measures indicate growing British support for Ukraine.
The CNN Effect and Democratic Peace Theory are the two concepts of international relations that can explain the extent and outcome of the Ukrainian social media campaign and its effects on the British government. Additionally, the British government's long-term history of sustaining and nurturing democratic ideals provides valuable insight into its tilt toward the Ukrainian government. Thus, this essay uses these concepts and references to analyze the mechanics and dynamics of Ukraine's social media campaign on Twitter and Tiktok with specific reference to the time between December 7, 2021, and March 25, 2022, respectively, to assess its effects on shaping British government's response.
Ukrainian Social Media Campaign Against Russia
Scholars worldwide have agreed that the emergence of social media has ...