Invasion of Ukraine: When Russia attacked Ukraine last week, some of the social media’s younger users were on the front lines on TikTok, witnessing the crisis firsthand.
The app’s regular offerings of fashion, fitness, and dance videos were replaced by recordings of people huddling and wailing in windowless bomb shelters, explosions ripping through metropolitan settings, and missiles blazing through Ukrainian cities.
Ukrainian social media influencers posted bleak images of themselves wrapped in blankets in underground bunkers and army tanks rolling down residential streets, juxtaposed with photos of blooming flowers and laughing friends at restaurants, which paid tribute to more peaceful memories of their hometowns.
They asked their followers to pray for Ukraine, donate to the Ukrainian military, and join anti-war initiatives, particularly among Russian users.
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The newest example of TikTok’s crucial role in relaying news and current events to the app’s massive Gen Z audience is Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which it has described as a “special operation.” Its well-known algorithm is notable for presenting trending information to individuals who do not follow specific persons, allowing themes to spread swiftly across its 1 billion monthly users.
In a speech intended for the Russian people, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called to “TikTokers” as a group that may help stop the war. Some TikTokers continued the conversation where the politician had left off.
Alina Volik, a Ukrainian travel blogger with over 36,000 TikTok followers, took a break from posting highlights of her trips to Egypt, Spain, and Turkey to upload videos of life during the invasion, including emergency backpacks filled with first aid supplies and sealed windows to protect against shards of glass in a blast. Volik also asked her worldwide fans to watch her Instagram Stories to “see the truth” about Ukraine in TikTok videos broadcast on Monday.
Volik stated that she intended to dispel misconceptions in the Russian media that the country’s activities are only a “military operation” rather than a war that is causing harm to Ukrainians.
On the TikTok sites of major Ukrainian influencers, images of residential structures devastated by missiles, empty grocery store shelves, and lengthy queues of automobiles stacked up outside petrol stations could be seen.
On Sunday, the Twitter account “@zaluznik,” which has 2 million followers, shared one such montage with the comment “Russians, open your eyes!”
Russian influencers have also used the app to express their displeasure. In a video posted on Thursday, Niki Proshin, who has over 763,000 TikTok followers, declared that “real people” in Russia do not favor the war.
“None of my friends and none of the individuals I talk to directly support today’s actions,” he stated of the invasion of Ukraine.
Russia’s communications regulator, Roskomnadzor, ordered on Monday that the app cease to include military-related information in suggested postings for children, claiming that much of the content was anti-Russian. A request for comment from TikTok was not immediately returned.
Online misinformation researchers warned that false information about the conflict was now mixed in with authentic ones and has spread widely on TikTok and other tech platforms including Meta Platforms (FB.O) Facebook, Twitter (TWTR.N), and Alphabet Inc’s (GOOGL.O) YouTube.
On social media sites, footage from the military simulator video game Arma 3, photographs of explosions from the Israeli-Palestinian struggle in Gaza, vintage videos of heavy gunfire, and animations of flying planes have been published as though they show the Russian invasion of Ukraine last week.
“We continue to actively monitor the situation and have boosted resources to respond to developing trends and delete violative content, including damaging disinformation and the promotion of violence,” a TikTok representative said, adding that the company collaborates with fact-checking groups.
Some TikTok users in Ukraine have made it their goal to communicate information and raise awareness among Western audiences.
Marta Vasyuta, 20, said in an interview on Monday, “I want people to understand this is not a joke, this is a serious crisis that Ukrainians are facing.”
Vasyuta’s TikTok video with the description “Kyiv 4:23 am” showed what seemed to be a rocket in the sky. By Monday, the video had received over 131,000 comments, with viewers offering prayers and expressing shock.
“I never expected to get WAR updates on TIKTOK,” one user commented.
