Social Media Is Reshaping Wartime Propaganda – OpEd

For centuries, propaganda played a significant role during wartime. With the advent of the Internet and social media, this role continues to exist but with different shapes. Countries are now utilizing these platforms to orchestrate and spread propaganda, using other powerful tactics and strategies to sway and influence the public. 

There are mainly three ways social media is being used to boost war propaganda: 

Spreading fake news stories: In July 2022, amidst the Ukraine war, many British and American tabloids newspapers published a photo of a claimed retired general, who was forced to join the Ukraine army, the intended message was that Russia had not enough soldiers, but a fact-checking debunked the whole story and revealed the true identity of the man as a border officer. Social media were also used to push fake news stories about both the health of presidents Putin and Zelensky. A viral fake news story claimed that the Ukrainian president had fled the country. This type of propaganda aims to create a sense of disability and incite fear among citizens.  

Impersonating credible information and news sources: Information is a crucial factor during wars, In some cases, legitimate news sources are being impersonated to fool the public, and a particular message gets across. In April 2022, Pro-Russia accounts on Telegram spread fake posts impersonating known western news sources such as CNN and BBC. The fabricated content included Ukrainian forces bombing their own station and an imminent nuclear war between Russia and NATO. Impersonation also extended even to fact-checking organizations and politicians.  

Controlling the narrative on the ground:  Social media are also being utilized to twist facts and control the narrative based on wars,  In June 2020, social media accounts loyal to the Government of National Accord in Libya and the Libya National Army started an online campaign to spin the outcome of the battle on the ground after the loss of these armies, Syria was also a scene of similar war propaganda, a network of 20 conspiracy theorist backed by Russia was exposed In June 2022, the goal of this campaign was to distort the reality by misrepresenting the role of the white helmets who were volunteering on the ground.

Russia also attempted to influence how Africans perceived the war in Ukraine. During the last war in Ethiopia, the official government used social media to discredit information shared by the Tigray activist about the unfolding events to shape how the rest of the world thinks about the conflict. 

Governments are the ones who rage war and propaganda, but society is the one who is harmed and disinformed. Big tech companies like Twitter and Facebook have started removing war propaganda content. Citizens in war zones should be cautious and educate themselves about these new tactics. Media literature could also help reduce the impact.