• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Towleroad
  • Towleroad on Social Media
  • Privacy Policy

Towleroad Gay News

Gay Blog Towleroad: More than gay news | gay men

  • Politics
  • Health
  • Travel
  • Gay Pride
  • Music
  • Sports
  • Law/Justice
  • Celebrities
  • Men
  • Space
  • Science
  • Gay Iconography
  • Madonna
  • Books
  • Monkeypox
  • Film/TV

TikTok war: How Russia’s invasion of Ukraine played to social media’s youngest audience

Towleroad March 7, 2022 Leave a Comment

Published by
Reuters
498859 origin 1

By Sheila Dang and Elizabeth Culliford

(Reuters) – When Russia invaded Ukraine last week, some of social media’s youngest users experienced the conflict from the front lines on TikTok.

Videos of people huddling and crying in windowless bomb shelters, explosions blasting through urban settings and missiles streaking across Ukrainian cities took over the app from its usual offerings of fashion, fitness and dance videos.

Ukrainian social media influencers uploaded bleak scenes of themselves wrapped in blankets in underground bunkers and army tanks rolling down residential streets, juxtaposed against photos of blooming flowers and laughing friends at restaurants that honored more peaceful memories of their hometowns.

They urged their followers to pray for Ukraine, donate to support the Ukrainian military and demanded Russian users in particular to join anti-war efforts.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which it has called a “special operation,” is the latest example of the central role TikTok has played in bringing news and current events to the app’s large Gen Z audience. Its famed algorithm is known for serving trending content even if users do not follow certain people, allowing topics to quickly go viral among its 1 billion monthly users.

The app has become so influential in this conflict that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy appealed to “TikTokers” as a group that could help end the war, in a speech directed at Russian citizens. Some TikTokers picked up where the politician left off.

A Ukrainian travel blogger named Alina Volik, who has over 36,000 followers on TikTok, took a break from posting highlights of her trips to Egypt, Spain and Turkey, to upload videos of life in the invasion, of emergency backpacks filled with first aid supplies and of sealed windows to protect against glass shards in a blast. In TikTok videos posted on Monday, Volik also urged her international followers to watch her Instagram Stories to “see the truth” about Ukraine.

In an email to Reuters, Volik said she wanted to combat misinformation in the Russian news that the country’s actions were a “military operation” rather than a war that is hurting Ukrainians.

Montages of residential buildings destroyed by missiles, empty grocery store shelves and long lines of cars piled up outside gas stations could be seen on the TikTok pages of top Ukrainian influencers.

“@zaluznik” who has 2 million followers, posted one such montage on Sunday with the caption “Russians open your eyes!”

Russian influencers have also taken to the app to share their reaction. Niki Proshin, who has over 763,000 TikTok followers, said in a video on Thursday that “normal people” in Russia do not support the war.

“None of my friends and none of the people I personally talk to supported today’s events,” he said, referring to the invasion of Ukraine.

On Monday, Russia’s communications regulator Roskomnadzor demanded the app stop including military-related content in recommended posts to minors, saying much of the content was anti-Russian in character. TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Online misinformation researchers warned that false information about the conflict were now mixed in with authentic ones and has spread widely on TikTok and other tech platforms including Meta Platforms’s Facebook, Twitter and Alphabet Inc’s YouTube.

Footage of military simulator video game Arma 3, images of explosions from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the Gaza Strip, old footage of heavy firing and animations of flying aircraft have been shared on social media sites as if they depict the Russian invasion of Ukraine last week.

“We continue to closely monitor the situation, with increased resources to respond to emerging trends and remove violative content, including harmful misinformation and promotion of violence,” a TikTok spokesperson said, adding that it works with fact checking organizations.

Some Ukrainian TikTok users have made it a mission to share information and spread awareness with Western audiences.

“I want people to understand this is not a joke, this is a serious situation that Ukrainians face,” Marta Vasyuta, 20, said in an interview on Monday.

One of Vasyuta’s TikTok videos showed what appeared to be a missile in the sky with the caption “Kyiv 4:23 am.” It had over 131,000 comments by Monday as users flooded the video to offer their prayers and express disbelief.

“Never thought I would get WAR updates on TIKTOK,” commented one user.

(Reporting by Sheila Dang in Dallas and Elizabeth Culliford in New York; editing by Kenneth Li & Shri Navaratnam)

498859 498859 origin 1 1
498859 498859 origin 1 2

Topics: Aaon, towleroad More Posts About: Meta Platforms, TikTok

Related Posts
  • Olivia Rodrigo and Kanye West win big at 2022 Billboard Music Awards
  • U.S. groups urge social media companies to fight ‘Big Lie,” election disinformation
  • Exclusive-Biden eyes new ways to bar China from scooping up U.S. data
  • Actor Kevin Spacey facing sexual assault charges in UK

    Actor Kevin Spacey facing sexual assault charges in UK

    Published by AFP The two-time Oscar winner was artistic director of the Old Vic London (AFP) – Hollywood actor Kevin Spacey is facing sexual assault charges in the UK, police and prosecutors said on Thursday, after …Read More »
  • Depeche Mode’s Andy Fletcher has died aged 60

    Depeche Mode’s Andy Fletcher has died aged 60

    Published by BANG Showbiz English Depeche Mode’s Andy Fletcher has died aged 60. The keyboardist and founding member – who was born in Nottingham and moved to Basildon in the 70s – of the 80s band …Read More »
  • TV board dismisses Senator’s request to allow parents to shield kids from LGBTQ characters; Cites 95% Parent Satisfaction With Ratings

    TV board dismisses Senator’s request to allow parents to shield kids from LGBTQ characters; Cites 95% Parent Satisfaction With Ratings

      Published by The Kansas City Star   The TV Parental Guidelines Monitoring Board dismissed a request from Sen. Roger Marshall, a Republican from Kansas, asking them to update their ratings system so parents could shield …Read More »
  • Apple unveils new Pride Apple Watch bands and watch face

    Apple unveils new Pride Apple Watch bands and watch face

    Published by BANG Showbiz English Apple has unveiled new Pride bands and a watch face for the Apple Watch to mark Pride Month. The tech giant is releasing a Pride Edition Sport Loop and the Pride …Read More »
Previous Post: « Arthritis drug could be a lifesaver in severe Covid cases, study says
Next Post: U.S. may act alone to ban Russian oil imports – sources »

Primary Sidebar

News

  • Don McLean, Larry Gatlin Pull Out Of NRA Convention Concert In Texas

    Don McLean, Larry Gatlin Pull Out Of NRA Convention Concert In Texas

  • Trump must testify in New York probe, appeals court rules

    Trump must testify in New York probe, appeals court rules

  • Guns are now the leading cause of death for American children

    Guns are now the leading cause of death for American children

  • The staggering toll of gun violence in the United States

    The staggering toll of gun violence in the United States

Break

  • Justin Timberlake has sold his song catalogue in a deal reportedly worth 100 million dollars

    Justin Timberlake has sold his song catalogue in a deal reportedly worth 100 million dollars

  • Dyson set to preview new robots to help with tasks at home

    Dyson set to preview new robots to help with tasks at home

  • Elvis fever set to shake Cannes

    Elvis fever set to shake Cannes

  • Battle Of The Billionaires! Elon Musk SLAMS Bill Gates After Article Claims Microsoft Mogul Is Funding Musk’s Critics

    Battle Of The Billionaires! Elon Musk SLAMS Bill Gates After Article Claims Microsoft Mogul Is Funding Musk’s Critics

RSS Partner Links

  • Ellen DeGeneres does the final episode of her daytime talk show after 19 years on the air
  • Morning Wood
  • Katie Holmes Makes Red Carpet Debut with New Boyfriend Bobby Wooten III, One Month After Relationship Was Revealed
  • “Laverne Cox got her own Barbie and she is dressed fabulously” links
  • The Sussexes are confirmed for the June 3rd service at St. Paul’s Cathedral
  • Joe Alwyn & Margaret Qualley Strike a Pose at 'The Stars At Noon' Photo Call in Cannes
  • One Tree Hill's James Lafferty Has Married 'The Royals' Actress Alexandra Park!
  • Lala Kent Claims Ex Randall Emmett Had Her 'Watched' & Threatened to Call the Cops on Her
  • Richard Harrison: Dick Fleshback

Most Recent

  • ‘The Reckoning Is Going To Happen’: Kevin Spacey’s Brother Slams Actor Hours After Sexual Assault Charges

    ‘The Reckoning Is Going To Happen’: Kevin Spacey’s Brother Slams Actor Hours After Sexual Assault Charges

  • Actor Kevin Spacey facing sexual assault charges in UK

    Actor Kevin Spacey facing sexual assault charges in UK

  • Depeche Mode’s Andy Fletcher has died aged 60

    Depeche Mode’s Andy Fletcher has died aged 60

  • TV board dismisses Senator’s request to allow parents to shield kids from LGBTQ characters; Cites 95% Parent Satisfaction With Ratings

    TV board dismisses Senator’s request to allow parents to shield kids from LGBTQ characters; Cites 95% Parent Satisfaction With Ratings

  • Apple unveils new Pride Apple Watch bands and watch face

    Apple unveils new Pride Apple Watch bands and watch face

  • Lithuanian parliament agrees to consider same-sex partnership bill

    Lithuanian parliament agrees to consider same-sex partnership bill

  • German minister warns against homophobia amid monkeypox outbreak

    German minister warns against homophobia amid monkeypox outbreak

Most Commented

Social

Twitter @tlrd | Facebook | Instagram @tlrd
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Towleroad
  • Towleroad on Social Media
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2022 · Log in