Misha was so distraught that he launched a website, Papaover, to spread information about the war. When Misha called his father to talk about the war, he was shocked to hear that his father did not believe that the Russians were the aggressors. Misha Katsurin is a Ukrainian but his father lives in Russia. The cyber war rages on.Īs fast as one front is shut down another one opens up. In response, Tik Tok suspended all new Tik Toks from inside Russia. To fight back against pro-Ukrainian posts, Putin passed a “fake” news law which banned all media outlets from using the word “war” punishable by 15 years in prison.
Russia has now moved to recognize Meta as an "extremist organization". The move was said to be in response to Meta's decision to allow Facebook and Instagram users in the Ukraine to call for violence. The cyber battle for hearts and minds is going so badly that Russia's state communications regulator Roskomnadzor blocked Facebook, Twitter, and now Instagram. Unguarded comments on these sites leak Russian plans and even blood movement and the information is passed on to Ukraine. Media reports claim British intelligence services have been tracking the Russian equivalent to the gay dating site Grinder as well as the Russian version of Facebook. Soldiers' online chatter has provided insight into Russian plans. Online apps have been caught up in the fray. Google Reviews of random restaurants and shops in Russia have Ukrainians posting “Terrific service but my day was ruined by the Russian bombings of civilians in the Ukraine.” The reviews circumvent state-run Russian media and communicate directly with Russian civilians who might be unaware or unable to access independent or credible news reports. Most users chalked this up to robots but there is no way to know.Īs the battle for Tik Tok bogged down, Ukrainians opened up a new cyber front, Google Reviews. Tons of pro-Russian sentiment flooded Tik Tok. As the war entered the second week the Russians countered this. The videos were all from the Ukrainian side and the comments were too. In the first days of the war Tik Tok was flooded with Ukrainian posts and the worldwide support was overwhelming.
All before the Ukrainian government could ask for help. All before Vladimir Putin had announced the war. A quick check of satellite imagery by Capella space allowed us to see massive columns of tanks. Roads heading from Russia into Ukraine lit up in red, letting us know there was a "traffic jam" at 3.15 am. The app captured road closures, heavy traffic, and suspended subway service. Using real time data from smartphones, Google Maps let us know the Russians had invaded Ukraine. The invasion of Ukraine has shown how connected we all are. This conflict is the first one of this scale to unfold online, in real time, and unfiltered. Russia's invasion of Ukraine has featured on every social media platform.